After being dark for a few weeks, welcome back to the Hobblog! In the past three weeks, we’ve closed the touring season at the Auditorium, hosted a William Penn production in the Black Box Theatre, and presented two Youth Theatre productions. Just as we’ve nearly finished putting things away, we’re starting rehearsals for the Hobbit.
When we decided to do this script, written excellently by Kim Selody, we knew there were about 25 speaking roles originally performed by eight performers. We thought we could expand that to about 40 performers, including action performers (people who mostly do fight scenes) and puppeteers.
Fast-forward to after our public auditions, when over 70 people turned out to be part of this production. We also had a lot of really good performers, which made deciding how to cast the show incredibly challenging.
Allison and I really don’t like to exclude people who want to participate in the projects we’re working on. We’ve always found that the phrase “the more, the merrier” is very true when it comes to productions. So, we sat down and decided to expand the parts to include everyone who auditioned.
That’s how you get a cast of over 75 people.
(The entire cast not featured in this photo)
We took a picture of the group on the first night but didn’t manage to be as organized as the week progressed.
Starting next week, the rubber hits the road. As the school year and so many other things in the community wind down to transition into summer, we’re going to be ramping up.
We’re just 12 weeks away! Are you ready for the adventure?