tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155437272009-02-20T19:26:56.071-06:00Playwright Kevin M Reese has been commissioned by Wichita Children's Theatre (KS) to write a new Kansas History musical production that will tour the State of Kansas during the 2006-2007 school year. This blog will document the progress of the script.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1159736347114986632006-09-29T15:45:00.000-05:002006-10-01T14:59:07.126-06:00

Opening Day! We performed the show at the "Governor's Book Festival" in Wichita this morning. It went well! I'm sure the cast sighed a BIG sigh of relief. They were wonderful! You'll notice in the photos below that they set up on a stage in the infield of the Wichita Wranglers baseball stadium. It was so windy that we had to get some volunteers to stand behind the set for the whole show to

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1159275081065440552006-09-25T19:41:00.000-05:002006-09-26T07:51:21.376-05:00

(above, the cast is setting up the stage for the Kansans Kan! mini-performance in Garden City, KS)All I can say is "wow."We performed the first 20 minutes of the show for the Kansas Council for History Education conference yesterday. Talk about nervous-- I was a wreck! Imagine writing a show and presenting it before an audience that knows 10 times more about the subject than I do! They were

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158776586646215782006-09-20T13:14:00.000-05:002006-09-20T13:23:06.670-05:00

Boy, what a good rehearsal we had today! I gave the actors the line cuts (actors LOVE to find out that they don't have to memorize as many lines as they thought!) and we worked just the first 15-20 minutes of the show. That's the section we're doing on Sunday. Monica, our Producer, and Sharla, our Tour Director (she's the one that arranges the booking of the performances at all the various

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158753344597149692006-09-19T18:50:00.000-05:002006-09-20T07:23:15.056-05:00

We had a run through of sorts today. It ran 52 minutes-- without music. That puts the total running time about 57 minutes. That just a little too long. We'll be performing in a lot of schools and need to keep it within a school hour period. 45 minutes would be ideal-- but that isn't attainable. Too much stuff in the show.As far as the actors go, I am amazed by their work. If you get a chance to

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158503150722405532006-09-16T11:55:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:08:56.380-05:00

I bought a new camera today. I'm going to be traveling around the state (in some instances, following the touring company as they travel from Kansas town to Kansas town) taking pictures of the things that are mentioned in the show. We won't be able to do it for this season, but the next time we do this show, we'll have big screens on either side of the stage with pictures and video clips of the

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158501139272520642006-09-15T20:29:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:37:05.143-05:00

This is now beginning to be fun! Before now, it was mostly tedious work-- "you stand there, she moves over here on this line, give more stress to this phrase..." Now, they're beginning to ACT!We worked on the first half of the show. Mostly what I did was fixed the blocking of some sections to make it more "organic"-- natural and flowing. Sometimes I give actors blocking without explaining WHY

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158499746802073632006-09-14T12:52:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:11:22.853-05:00

Today, we plowed through the whole show. The objective was to let the actors get through the whole thing to re-check their blocking. It was mostly THEIR rehearsal. We actually got through it twice. As I've said before, this is a good group!They are retaining everything very well-- and they are actually beginning to show that some lines are memorized. That is a VERY comforting thing for a director

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158203686924409172006-09-13T21:52:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:12:10.136-05:00

We finished blocking the rest of the script this morning. Whew! That was a LOT of stuff to do. I showed the actors a picture of a Maxell advertisement where a guy is sitting in a chair in front of a speaker and the force of the sound is blowing back his hair and his tie-- he's hanging onto the arms of the chair for dear life! THAT's how this show needs to be to our audiences. They are along for a

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158110727285138222006-09-12T20:09:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:13:16.776-05:00

This morning we began blocking. Different directors do this different ways. I have the actors just sit down and I go line-by-line where they enter, exit, and stand. Very tedious work, but I've found that to be the best way for me to do it. After that, we "get it up on it's feet"-- we have the actors do the blocking on the stage. This lets us know that they wrote it down correctly to begin with (

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158109681135262022006-09-11T17:42:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:16:44.413-05:00

Our first rehearsal. This is the first time many of us got to meet each other. Monica and the office staff already knew the actors because they hired them. After a welcome pep talk from our Executive Director, Monica, we introduced ourselves and listened to our Tech Designer, John show us the set (scenery) designs. That's always an exciting time for actors. It's usually the beginning of all the "

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158111865187173672006-09-11T14:25:00.000-05:002006-09-20T07:13:30.103-05:00

(L-R: Vic May, Shannon Knipp, John Sommerhauser, and Alexis D. Morrison) Alexis - She plays lots of different characters in this play-- as do all the actors. Some of the more famous characters she'll be playing are Sacajawea and Amelia Earhart. She'll also be playing Goldilocks in "Goldilocks & the 3 Bears."John - He plays Coronado, a soldier, and a basketball player among a lot of others. He

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1157806184844019102006-09-09T07:32:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:19:29.466-05:00

Rehearsals begin in two days-- Monday September 11 at 9 am. Above is a photo of our recent production meeting where everyone involved in the production helps in the planning stages. The empty chair is mine-- I took the picture. From left is Victor May, the Tour Manager, Deb Campell, the Costume Designer, John Hammer, the Scenic Designer, Kyle Vespestad, the director of Goldilocks, and Monica

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1157808164743872882006-09-06T07:54:00.000-05:002006-09-09T08:52:14.660-05:00

We're talking with the planners of the Kansas Council for History Education about the possibility of presenting a short (15 min?) sample of Kansans Kan at their convention in Garden City September 24-25. The actors will still be in rehearsal then, but I think we can talk them into making the trip to Garden City. We only have a small handful of available performance dates left, but Sharla, the

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1156794260328323312006-08-27T14:40:00.000-05:002006-08-28T14:50:29.056-05:00

Two weeks until we begin rehearsals. The show is almost sold-out. The remaining performance dates (M-F) still available are:Oct - 4, 27Nov - 15, 27, 28, 29, 30Jan - 30Feb - 16, 19, 21, 22Mar - 1, 2The only other dates available are weekends until March 2. If there are enough bookings to extend the present season past March 2, I'm sure they'll do it-- but the bookings need to come soon so they can

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158503935458624852006-08-25T21:29:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:21:47.330-05:00

Astronomers voted yesterday to "demote" the planet Pluto to "Dwarf Planet" status. They say it's such a small planet and its orbit is too close to Neptune's (acuaully over-lapping). The scientists just recently re-defined the requirements for a Planet and Pluto just didn't fit the bill. This is interesting timing, because the scientist who originally "discovered" Pluto back in the 1930 was Clyde

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1155199009127483102006-08-10T03:22:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:23:22.933-05:00

The longer I work on this, the more I begin to second-guess my choices. This project is the toughest I've ever done-- and I've had to write a musical version of Alice in Wonderland in 30 days, start to finish! At times I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. This is typical though. I've been living with Kansas history for the last year and it's about to come to a close. Bitter-sweet.I could have easily

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1154786795039201502006-08-05T08:52:00.000-05:002006-08-05T09:06:35.056-05:00

I've posted a "looking over my shoulder" page on the KMR Scripts website at www.kmrscripts.com/kansasClick on the "Progress" link.

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1154180307295352202006-07-29T08:31:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:25:57.510-05:00

My challenge is to not get bogged-down with historical facts. Though I'm sure I'm facing the same challenge as any classroom KS history teacher, I must remember that I'm telling the STORY of the history of Kansas. My guidelines for what is included in the show:1. What do 5th , 6th, 7th graders NEED to know?2. What will 5th , 6th, 7th graders find INTERESTING to discover?3. What do 5th , 6th, 7th

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1154104750615401302006-07-28T10:57:00.000-05:002006-09-17T10:25:40.786-05:00

One week to go. I may (or may NOT) meet my Aug 1 deadline after all.My wife got transferred to Wichita from our home in Iowa in April. The last two months (the most crucial in my writing process) have been spent selling a house, buying a house and all the related duties of relocation. Luckily, I was in good shape with my research. You can see my outline progress on the KMR Scripts website

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1139602397027634152006-02-10T14:08:00.000-06:002006-09-17T10:28:21.523-05:00

I have about 15 books on Kansas history that I'm sure I will never look at again after this project is over. I proposed an idea to the staff at Wichita Children's Theatre to have a drawing or contest of some sort and the winner(s) would receive some/all of the books for their classroom. We haven't worked out the details of it yet-- but when we do, we'll post the rules/guidelines on the WCT

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1137843904234574462006-01-21T05:05:00.000-06:002006-09-17T10:29:55.550-05:00

Though it's been a long time since I added to this blog, I've not been idle. I'm finishing up a new script for The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf for Wichita Children's Theatre Once Upon a Time series that will play in March. I went on a book-buying trip to Wichita over the holidays. I hit the major (and a couple minor) bookstores, scouring the shelves for Kansas books. I bought:Touched by Fire - DVD

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1158504800897781602005-08-27T08:48:00.000-06:002006-09-17T09:53:20.913-05:00

I've sent about 100 emails to teachers around the state. Some were sent directly to teachers, some were sent to "Kansas History Teacher" when no specific teachers name was listed on a school's website. I've gotten a couple "Great idea, I'll get back to you" responses. They're in the middle of getting their new school years started, so they have more important things on their minds right now.

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1124417692241990712005-08-19T19:59:00.000-06:002006-09-17T10:31:11.140-05:00

I've gotten a lot of "Great idea" emails in response to my emails to teachers. I'm finding that the tips I get from Kansas teachers/history buffs is going to be immeasurable. I'll post received suggestions at www.kmrscripts.com/kansas/suggestions.htm.

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1124377783934307462005-08-18T08:59:00.000-06:002006-09-17T10:31:48.813-05:00

Here is the beginning of a brief outline of what I'd like to cover:IntroBefore Man (geography, etc)Native Americans/Early Explorers/Early settlersSlavery IssueBleeding KansasLawrence RaidOrphan TrainsWild West Towns/Characters/EventsStatehoodFamous KansansKansas Influence on US/WorldThis outline will be continually evolving over the next year. I would LOVE to have input on what others think

Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15543727.post-1124370365756672722005-08-14T07:02:00.000-06:002006-09-17T10:33:27.096-05:00

I'm scouring the Internet looking for Kansas 5-8 grade History and Social Studies teachers. I've begun sending out emails to any I can find listed on school websites. I can't imagine teachers not wanting to be a part of the project-- if they have the time. It will take me a week or so to go through all the listings of all the schools. I'll be curious to see how many emails I end up sending. I'll

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