More Pix...

Hey there. It's Nick here and I'm a new member of the Ground UP gang and am really excited to share some more pics from our awesome Gala (Also our 5th Birthday!!) Hope you enjoyed it and if you weren't there, here's what you missed!

The Pump Boys and Dinettes (Above)

Our awesome emcee, Guy Olivieri (Left)

And our delicious cake!! YUM!

We've celebrated the past and now we look to the future

Hey there,

Over the last couple of weeks we've spent a lot of time celebrating our past, having our 5th anniversary party, and talking about our past.

As we think about the past, it makes us excited about our future. There has been so much growth over the years and so much we are proud of.

We have had great productions, great sets, great graphics, and a great following in our patrons and audience. We've also continued to grow as a company. Just this week, we got two new volunteers who are eager to work with our company.

The thing that touched us the most after our gala were the amazing notes sent by our very own company members/staff who went on about how honored and proud they were to be part of such a company. That this company was unlike any they have ever worked with in NYC.

It is this pride, commitment, and excitement that will take us to the next level. It's important to not only learn from the past, but also to think of the future. To set our goals and dreams and accomplish them. We work hard to think about where we want to be and what we want to do!!!!

The upcoming months will be about our educational program, our NY residency for UNC students, our UNC residency/workshops, and the fall premiere of Letter from Algeria. This will involve lots of planning and work to make it all happen. Now that we've had our amazing Gala and celebrated, we are back at work to give you the future. A future for students and a futre for an original show that we hope will amaze and mesmerize you.

The other thing we plan to do is go beyond this fall. To go deep into the future and start thinking about next year and the year after that. Kate and Phil have started working on a five year plan for Ground UP and Kate continues to look at ways we can grow and expand, while keeping our intimate feel of family. Our excellence and high caliber of work is what we are proud of so that status quo will be the foundation of what we do next. We are asking you to join us, to stay with us, and go on this journey into the future.

Give us your thoughts and your ideas. What do you want to see from us? What can we do better? How can we become the best theatre company you ever knew?

We're excited to wok with the students and to make Michael's show a reality. We're excited to present to you this world premiere. We're beyond thrilled to then ride into our Winter Reading Series where again, we can discover the next great play of our generation. Before we know it, we'll be announcing our 2011 season. It is amazing how fast time flies when you're having fun.

Now that we've celebrated the past 5 years, let's move forward and look to the future the great things we will do in the next 5 fives.

Thank you for sticking by our side and hope you will be there with us on this amazing journey we've taken, building amazing theatre from the Ground UP!

Remembering Barefoot...

Hey gang, Travis here. I’m a long time board member and Ground UP’s resident lighting and set designer.

Of course I think our production values are one of the big things that set us apart from our off-off piers, but so do the reviews, our audiences and colleagues. I think one of our finest moments of stagecraft was for last season’s BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. The scenery for this show was quintessential Ground UP Productions’ aesthetic; environmental and romantically realistic.

Neil Simon threw the director and designer a real ringer with this play, even in the most ideal circumstances. And ideal, our circumstances, were not. This production took place at our beloved Manhattan Theatre Source, which has to be one of the quirkiest theatre’s in the city; awkward architecture, an out of place spiral staircase, the most obtrusive control booth in history, plumbing in the middle of everything and a 3 inch sag in floor at center stage. However, it is that terrible space which gave us many of the delightful hallmarks of our BAREFOOT. We know how to work that room and pulled all of our favorite tricks.

Most of the enormous challenges we faced were written by Neil himself. Here’s a brief list: the ledge outside of the window must be walked on, a broken skylight through which it snows AND the climactic dialogue is delivered, a functioning kitchen as well as so many specifics about entrances and exits. To top it off, Act 1 is a bare apartment, Act 2 is fully furnished. For us, this was the clincher as the only effective way in and out of the theatre is through the audience door which is less than three feet wide!

Between the director, Lon, the technical director, Dan, our fearless leader and czar of good taste, Kate, and myself, we rose to every challenge! Using our favorite seating arrangement, we took advantage of the good that the theatre had to offer; beautiful exposed brick walls and hard wood floors from the 19^th Century and the door to the adjacent apartment building’s stairwell (to be used as the stairs to our ‘5^th floor walk-up’). Using some of our beautiful stock windows and doors we created the rest of the room and wrapped the audience 360 degrees so they would be as close as neighbors, peeping in on the newlywed characters. The director and I worked very hard on placing our entrances to get the most comedy out of actors making exaggerated crosses from bedroom to bathroom and back. We gave Mr. Simon his required ‘sunken’ living room and, the cou-de-gras, the skylight. What gave the mother of all scene changes it grace was the brilliance of Kate and Lon, choreographing an a-vista moving man extravaganza that literally pulled furniture out from under the audience’s butts to put onstage. Take that Neil Simon!

I can’t believe how much we pulled off inside such a small theatre. But of course, there were things the set couldn’t accomplish in such little space, so I thought I’d just let the lighting designer fix it. Oh crap, that’s me!!!

Here are some pictures and drawings that give a little insight into the process of creating BAREFOOT IN THE PARK.
An early sketches, some ideas came to fruition, others changed















































All of which became...

























Technical Drawings




















And the result?...








































Thanks for checking us out!

Like I said... It's AMAZING!

So detailed, great fondant icing, on time delivery. Perfect!
Thanks Jolaade!

And for anyone that wants a great cake that was also delicious for an event, contact:
Jolaade Aboaba
J.A.D.A's Delights, LLC
2725 Linwood Rd.
Union, NJ 07083

973-946-2335
jadasdelights@gmail.com
www.jadasdelights.com

Dudes... Here's our AMAZING Cake!

BIG, BIG GALA SUCCESS!

So here's a clip (thanks Anne and Anne's iPhone!) from our 5th Bday party last Saturday.
I would have to call it a raging success, and thank all of the awesome performers who made it happen. Guy was the best emcee I have EVER seen and the cake, made by Jolaade Aboaba, was the most stunning thing ever. I cried. Like 3 times...
Major PROPS to J.A.D.A's Delights, LLC! THANK YOU!

More pix to come when I get them, but here is the birthday video.
Enjoy and thanks again all!

Update on the Gala

Hey y'all,

Every year when we throw our annual fundraiser, it's a lot of work. It's almost as much work as putting a show up. (Last year we did the Gala DURING the rehearsal period for Barefoot In The Park; it almost killed us.) This year's bash is going much easier. Perhaps we're getting the hang of it.

I'm so incredibly excited about the performers for this year's party. Normally we do one band, or something like that, but this year: a cabaret performed by Ground Uppers and friends.

Have you seen Molly Pope? She's a cabaret superstar who does an amazing show, aptly titled The Molly Pope Show, at venues like Joe's Pub. And sells them out. She's the real deal, people.

Rob Maitner has the funniest Facebook Statuses of anyone I know. And what he has prepared is so wacky - you're going to die. 90s style.

Natalie Douglas

asked me what she should do, and I asked her to do something classy. She's really well-known in New York. Did you know she's a MAC Award winner? Maybe she'll do some Nina Simone or Lena Horne.

You know our next play was written by Michael Walker. It's a drama. But, Michael also has a writing partner, with whom he writes amazing musicals. Check out Ewalt and Walker. There are going to be a few E&W songs performed at the gala. One by Eric Petersen, who is just about to go out on tour as the title character in Shrek: The Musical. We're lucky to have him!

Excited yet?

Who else? I don't want to give away all the secrets. But I'll tease you with these:

•A song extolling the virtues of New Jersey

•Something in French

•A dramatic reading of a beloved commercial

and

•A trip to The Frog Pad.

That's all you're getting, people.

Not too late to buy tickets. Hope to see you there.

Did I mention tons of food and all-you-can-drink?

The Frog Pad Lives On!

OK, so I never got a photo of the plaque that we apparently won from Cornell Business School for our Warehouse Project. However, I was at the WH this weekend getting stuff ready for the Gala and I found THIS!

So, in honor of our upcoming, Southern, 5 year anniversary, Gala to raise mula for the upcoming season.... I PROUDLY PRESENT.....
The FROG PAD HISTORIC LANDMARK Plaque!

For those of you who didn't see The People vs. Mona, this plaque commemorates the fact that the coolest juke-joint in Tippo, Georgia is now on the registry for historic places in America.

So congrats Ground UP for helping to make this happen!
...And here's to a FABULOUS Gala!

Vacation Weekend is Over, now it's back to work!

Hello,

I hope everyone is doing well? How was every one's Memorial Day weekend? Mine was pretty awesome. It was great to relax, go out, BBQ, hang with friends, and enjoy a weekend of pushing responsibilities aside. Well, that has ended today. It's time to get back to reality and back to work.

The next two weeks are going to be extremely busy for us. The entire company will gear up and do the work necessary to pull off our 5th anniversary Gala Bash (The Bootleg Revue). With just two weeks left to the big day we still have lots of planning and preparations to do, such as food, sound, decorations, auction items, rehearsals, script, PR, setup schedule, crew shifts, etc...

I know I talk about preparations and go into details about the behind the scenes action since this is the area I oversee, but I'm sure you, the reader is excited about one part. The talent!! The singers!! The performers who are going to be performing these wonderful musical numbers for you. We have incredible talent lined up. I have to personally thank Guy Olivieri who worked magic to put together an exciting and great show for you. What you see on stage will be there because of Guy. You might recognize some of the names (Kat Sherrell, Natalie Wilson, Natalie Douglas, Matt Hardy, Randy Klein, Gay Marshall, Marcie Henderson, Kyle Ewalt, Jillian Louis, Kevin McWilliams, Cole Burden, Rob Maitner, Molly Pope, Casey Densler, Michael Hicks, Karen Culp, Franklin Golden) and we also have the band "Happy Ending" singing some songs from their album Turn It On. Doesn't it sound like a great night???

Now here is the most important work we need to do this upcoming week - sell tickets!! Aren't you excited to see these talented individuals strut their stuff on stage? Let's make a deal, while I work with the company to get the show together, you work on getting people to join us for what will be an evening full of fun! Go to our website now to purchase tickets. Seats will go fast, so don't miss out. Again, our Gala is going be next Saturday, June 12th from 8-12, near Union Square, with great food, drinks, and of course, performances from all members of the company. Singing things from past shows, doing skits, and we are even going to have a pinata. Visit our website, http://www.groundupproductions.org/. to get tickets. Your purchase includes food, all you can drink, and a show. The truth is, your ticket will help us have another season and produce our upcoming world premiere. This is our biggest fundraising evening so we really need you there.

Come join us and in the meantime, I will forget my vacation weekend and get back to work!!


- Phil