VANDERBILT OFF-BROADWAY | Issue 1

Vanderbilt Off-Broadway

Fall 2012
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITYS ENTIRELY STUDENT-RUN MUSICAL COMPANY IN THIS ISSUE

Reaching Out to Alumni

by John Boyd, Assistant Director 2012-2013

As I am wrapping up my first year at Vanderbilt, I cannot imagine my life without VOB. Here, I have found a family to support me, love me, and help me keep my humor after the fifth time I screw up a line or walk through an invisible wall. Over the summer, Vanderbilt is renovating Sarratt Student Center, home of the VOB Office and its infamous couch. We will be losing the office in the renovation in order to make room for general use space for all student organizations. I was cleaning out some cabinets that had not been opened in years and came across all of the old scrapbooks from past shows. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Kiss Me Kate, Brigadoon, all of these shows that to me were just names from VOBs past came to life off of the pages. The Towers parties, rehearsals in Hebbs, and pictures from the green room in the backstage of Ingram were all familiar even though the people were not. The seniors like to talk about all of the changes VOB has seen in their time here, but fundamentally it seems the same to me. A bunch of friends throw themselves behind a show, run around like crazy building sets, repeat the same choreography until they can

dance in their sleep, and after a spell, make art. My goals with this newsletter are to formalize our connection and to allow for all of our alumni to see the excitement that we continue to bring to the stage.

Were Growing!
Every year our goal is the same: to produce the best musical Vanderbilt has ever seen. Last year, this became a twice yearly event with our first ever spring show, I Love You, Youre Perfect, Now Change succeeding the success of our main stage show, NINE. This year, in addition to our main stage show, Reefer Madness, we also produced The Last Five Years, a touching show detailing the course of a relationship. We take the lessons we learn from our successes and blunders to make our organization stronger as a company, as a group of friends, and as a family. If you have any ideas for us please let us know! Were looking forward to keeping you a part of the VOB family!

Reefer Madness
Last January VOB produced the musical parody of the 1930s documentary of the same name. Among the most ridiculous musicals ever conceived, Reefer Madness delighted audiences with its black humor and slapstick.

The Last Five Years

This April VOB premiered its second ever second show! With a cast of two, The Last Five Years is an intimate view of a relationship that delighted audiences.

VANDERBILT OFF-BROADWAY | Issue 1

New Beginnings
by Jessie Rodriguez, President 2012 - 2013

I knew immediately after being cast in Urinetown my freshman year (Fall 2009) that I wanted to make VOB a huge part of my Vanderbilt experience. This world was completely different than anything that I had ever experienced. I walked into my audition wearing yellow Converse and a dress, not knowing that I would need to dance. Clueless as to how, this varsity athlete turned theatre geek is now VOBs President. Who would have thought that? Anyway, I cannot even begin to put into words how excited I am to serve as the President of Vanderbilt Off-Broadway for the 2012-2013 school year. I am so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing General Board this year, with each member full of new ideas, energy and dedication to this fantastic organization. It is also my greatest pleasure to work with this years Artistic Director Malika Watson, not only a gifted creative visionary, but also one of my very best friends at Vanderbilt. I have the fullest confidence that she will work with the rest of the Artistic Board to create a masterpiece of musical theatre with this years production of The Drowsy Chaperone, which I could not be more excited produce my senior year. This year as president, I want to focus on collaborative events with other student organizations. One of the best things about Vanderbilt is the talent that this school attracts. Every weekend, VOB BOARD 2012 - 2013 Executive Board President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer: Producer: Publicity: Historian: Assistant Technical Director:

VOBber Laurie Nordland (left) with President Jessie Rodriguez (right).

performances litter campus, be it art, music, danceyou name it, weve got it. Also, student performers rarely contain themselves to one group. For example, I am also a member of Vanderbilt University Concert Choir and Vanderbilt University Theatre, great organizations with such talented performers. I am not the only member of VOB performing in other arts organizations. VOBs membership spans across other organizations such as VIDA (Latin Dance), VOCE (All-Female A Capella), JPAC (Vanderbilt Juggling and Physical Arts Club), The Original Cast, Caf Con Leche, and Dancing With the Dores. With so many VOBbers across so many organizations, we have a deep pool of talent to create even more stunning art. As President this year, I plan on establishing the basis for collaboration within Vanderbilts performing arts groups. I have already begun reaching

out to The Original Cast and Vanderbilt University Theater to establish a talent showcase. Each organization would be able to show off our collective members with a philanthropic objective. We in the Vanderbilt performing arts have a social conscience as well, and by combining our love for performance with community service, we can continue the Vanderbilt tradition. The showcase is still in the planning stages, and I hope to give more of an update in future newsletters. I look forward to sharing with you the happenings of this upcoming year. I have no doubt that VOB will continue to build upon past successes and have yet another incredible year of musical theatre, new friendships, and lasting memories.

Artistic Board Jessie Rodriguez Tessa Chillemi Agbo Ikor Michael Greshko Beau Bassewitz Nora Elderkin and Elizabeth Dunlap Laura Woodwick Cassidy Parkinson Director: Assistant Director: Stage Manager: Assistant Stage Manager: Vocal Director: Assistant Vocal Director: Choreographer: Assistant Choreographer: Technical Director Assistant Technical Director: Ads Costumer: Assistant Costumer: Conductor: Malika Watson John Boyd Annie Bloemer Dory Hunt Erin Kelly Lauren Hinkle Abby Sosna Danielle Beaujon Noah Fram Cassidy Parkinson Felicia Byrd Margaret Jones Sam Greene

VANDERBILT OFF-BROADWAY | Issue 1

3
Its always the little moments that make you realize these broader lessons. One day during tech week we had to push a piano, which was illicitly in the Hebbs rehearsal room, to its rightful place in Towers West; however, because we are theater people, naturally we could not complete the task normally. As we took the piano at a run through the Towers tunnel, with Ryan running alongside playing the Last 5 Years song Climbing Uphill, it occurred to me that these ridiculous little moments are things that could only happen in college, and only with VOBbers. The diners at C.T. West may have judged us heavily as we rolled by with a piano, singing, but we were glad to have one last collegiate theater adventure. For those of you who graduated years ago, I can imagine that this is all old news to you. Even a short, 3-month production can significantly change a person. Thats the beauty of VOB and theater collaboratively creating a production allows people to grow together. This is obviously reflected in the growth of our own organization. Four years ago people thought of the second show as a great idea, but impractical in reality. Now, after successfully completing its second year, VOB is climbing uphill into an exciting new chapter. As Dr. Lovensheimer described to me after opening night of The Last 5 Years, That was exactly what VOB needed. The idea of running out of time really is significant to all of us we all know that we only have (or had) a certain number of years at Vanderbilt. But what is really incredible to me is how VOB has grown over time via the individual, four-year efforts of each class. What seemed to be challenges in February are now feats, what was assumed to be impossible in 2008 is now gearing up for its third production in 2013, and those who were freshmen four years ago have now graduated. We may lose a few of the relationships we built here in years to come, but we will always have the legacy, the memories and the growth we have found as VOBbers. The exciting part now is seeing where VOB will go in the next 5 years.

The Last Five Goodbyes

by Haley Rauch, Second Show Director 2011 - 2012

Take a breath, Take a step, Take a chance, Take your time. The Schmuel Song, The Last 5 Years by Jason Robert Brown When we first chose The Last 5 Years for the 2012 spring show, I have to admit I was hesitant. VOB had never done a show with a cast as small as two people. Coming from a cast of 35 in Reefer Madness, which had closed just one week prior, I was worried about the radical change we were about to introduce to VOBs production set. In some ways, a two-person show presents challenges that weve never faced in our main stages. Yes, teaching blocking and music becomes simpler, and it allows more time to refine the technical aspects. But making the show itself strong is a difficult process because its success rests entirely on the two actors playing the challenging roles of Jamie and Cathy. Considering that the musical has almost no dialogue, we would have to work to distinguish our show from the cast recording. And most importantly, we would have to find a way to keep the audience interested with only one person on stage at a time. We were so lucky, however, to work with two outstanding actors, Molly Snead and Ryan Korell. Rehearsals became less instructive and more of an organic creative process. The actors knew so much about their characters that they were willing to work with the directors to determine what best reflected their character in terms of blocking and singing. It was great to see how seriously Molly and Ryan knew these two

characters. Every day I was challenged with, I feel like Cathy or Jamie would actually rather do or I dont understand what he means in this line As we grew more comfortable working with each other and with the characters, the show strengthened into an incredibly moving and cohesive production. They helped us so much that the aforementioned challenges soon became irrelevant. Though I did not realize it when we first picked the show in early February, I soon learned that The Last 5 Years is very applicable to our lives at Vanderbilt. The majority of us involved in the production were seniors, and the show closed almost exactly a month before graduation. Though the plot of The Last 5 Years follows the story of a failed relationship, the show explores the complicated question of how time affects us as individuals and the relationships in which we define ourselves. In the wedding scene, a stage direction describes the couple, as if they knew they did not have much time left. It was a powerful message for those of us who did know in that moment that we did not have much time left at Vanderbilt. The show adopted a meaning that is not just about the relationship between Jamie and Cathy, but the relationships that have defined us as VOBbers for the past five or four years. Working on this production showed me that those relationships the really powerful ones, the ones that really teach you something about yourself can form even in the last five months of your college career. Our process was not just about figuring out the complicated relationship between Jamie and Cathy, but also about building a strong relationship between those of us involved in the production.

The cast and crew of The Last 5 Years. Back: Felicia Byrd, Caty Bishop, Carrie Tietjen, Molly Snead, Ryan Korrel, Haley Rauch, Toni Cao, Graham Goenne. Front: Ashley Titus, Cassidy Parkinson.

VANDERBILT OFF-BROADWAY | Issue 1

Remember This?
A selection of memories taken from the VOB scrapbooks.

Above Left: Fiddler on the Roof, 2008 Above: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 2004 Left: Kiss Me Kate, 2007 Below: Can you identify this picture? Be the first and get free tickets to the Drowsy Chaperone!

VANDERBILT OFF-BROADWAY | Issue 1

5
remember that, which only fanned the flame of flipping out, and made the determination that this show would be crap become swollen and pus-filled. Im not sure what it was that brought everyone to their senses. Maybe it was just the fact that we had the opportunity to rehearse in the new space that made everything come together. Maybe, if I may stroke my own erect ego, it was my hilarious pantomime of people breaking through the imaginary walls of the reefer den because they had piss-poor imaginations, and seeing me make an ass of myself brought them back to what the show was all about. Probably not, but it was my favorite memory. I was also proud of my joke about Jack seeing ya in the funny papers in the actual physical newspaper on the toilet, because he walked off-stage towards the bathroom, and not out the front door (which no one ever f*$%ing shut, either! What are we, made of money, letting all the cool air out like that? Ya crazy or somethin?) But in any case, the pus-filled wound that was the habitually horrible first days of dress rehearsal and everyones insistence on flipping out over it eventually quelled, and the show was hilarious! The legendary Joan Landholt liked it better than NINE, and strangers approached me to tell me how funny the show was for months afterwards. We were fine, and I mean damn fine, I mean, we snap our fingers in zformations now. And we aint gonna stop for nobody nor nothing, girlfriend. Mhm.

Tell Your Alumni!

The Madness of Directing Reefer Madness
by Molly Landholt, Mainstage Director 2010 - 2012

Let me see, where do I begin? At first nothing. And then music! (Im sorry, I could not resist nodding to our alumni from NINE.) Ive drafted this story three times, and every time, I sound like an English teacher (which I have already become! A woo-hoo with those of you who remember me). But the story of our Reefer Madness doesnt need an English teachers voicealthough at the time, I was always careful to represent the show as a college musical, not a pothead musical, but I digress. I will try to tell it in Molly, the artistic directors voice. Get ready for lots of swears. After the falling-out of selecting the show in the first place, the loss and acquisition of a vocal director, and the FallOut II (with many more zombies this time) of casting a bunch of newcomers in coveted roles, the beginning stages of the show were filled with a lot of madness, and not nearly enough of the relaxing qualities of reefer. However, as rehearsals began, artistic visions were clarified, and I risked breaking my neck on a daily basis demonstrating the level of ridiculousness I expected of everyone on stage. It was a good time. It was a fearful

time for me, and not just because I faceplanted for comic effect during every single rehearsal. When the second semester began and the performances crept nearer, as is the yearly habit of VOB, people flipped the f*$% out. Everyone was convinced that this show would be absolute crap, and that the reputation that we had worked so hard to develop with Urinetown and NINE would go down the crapper. But it was this attitude that was the crap. You see, as is also the yearly habit of VOB, moving into Ingram has the same effect on everything youve developed during rehearsals as turning on a light has for moths at night. Imagine it, if you will: youre flying along, navigating by the polarity of the suns rays (or, the heating lamps in Hebbs rehearsal hall, whichever you prefer), and BAM! Suddenly, there are all these other light beams. Which way do I go? Which way do I go? you ask yourself like a clueless cartoon character as you stumble around a rehearsal space thats suddenly lit differently, and has set pieces, and is forty feet long, and will be where the final performances take place. Im sure you remember. Well, with newcomers in a lot of the larger roles, not a lot of VOBbers could

The Cast of VOBs Reefer Madness in the final days before the big premier. Were still looking happy after spending way too many hours in Hebbs Rehearsal Hall. Choreographer Frannie Christian and Director Molly Landholt and lead us in the front row. Back left to right: Brian Cooper, Arian Flores, Mark Bailey, Graham Goenne, Michael Greshko, Kollen Post, John Boyd, Ben Terpstra, Harry Lopez. Next Row: Carrie Tietjen, Jackie Roeing, Elizabeth Dunlap, Sarah McPhillips, Haley Rauch, Toni Cao. Next Row: Caroline Henley, Camille Harris, Danielle Beaujon, Helen Rapp, Nora Elderkin, Beau Bassewitz, Annie Bloemer, Erin Kelly, Jessie Rodriguez. Front row: Agbo Ikor, Erin Cirioli, Laurie Nordland, Luara Woodwick, Felicia Byrd, Jill Dona, Shasta Rizzi.

VANDERBILT OFF-BROADWAY | Issue 1

Thank You to Our Supporters!

VOB is pleased to thank everyone who has supported our cast, crew and board over the years. Our dedicated, alumni, parents, friends, and professors have formed the core of our audiences. We live to make art, but it is for you we make our productions. Thanks to your feedback, we can continue our mission of producing the best musical we have ever made year after year. This year, we would specifically like to thank our generous donors. Because of incremental annual budget increases for Vanderbilts student organizations, we rely on donor support to achieve our ambitious artistic goals. Most recently, we were able to purchase a brand new, and sorely needed, electric piano. We have already begun to reap the benefits of this professional instrument that performs more reliably and gives us higher quality sound for when we want to showcase in smaller promotional performances. It is a tool we will benefit from for years to come. If you are interested in continuing the VOB tradition of charitable giving, please go to giving.vanderbilt.edu for an easy online payment platform and be sure to note that you want your gift directed to Vanderbilt OffBroadway.

VOB Practices Vocals for the Drowsy Chaperone on our new piano.

Announcements
Look for these events in the coming year!

Homecoming Weekend Dinner at Chiles, contact Tessa Chillemi for information and reservations. The Drowsy Chaperone VOBs 2013 Main Stage Show. Join us as we transform a lonely apartment into a Roarin 20s Musical! Spring Show Next years spring show is still to be announced. Look out for more information in future newsletters.

Friday October 19

January 17, 18, 19

April 2013

Vanderbilt
Off-Broadway

Contact
vandyoffbroadway@gmail.com Newsletter Editor and Assistant Director 2012-2013: John Boyd, john.m.boyd@vanderbilt.edu President 2012-2013: Jessie Rodriguez, Jessie.m.rodriguez@vanderbilt.edu Vice President 2012-2013: Tessa Chillemi, tessa.c.chillemi@vanderbilt.edu Historian 2012-2013: Laura Woodwick, laura.c.woodwick@vanderbilt.edu Thank you to Andy Enkebell for his pictures of The Last 5 Years and Chris Honiball for his picture of Reefer Madness in the sidebar of page one.