Taking a gamble with A "Little" trip to Rhode Island

....and may I say, we won the jackpot. Well, I lost money but Kate tripled hers. The real winner of the night though was our very own Guy Olivieri who gave an outstanding and smashing killer plant of a performance as Seymour in Theatre By The Sea's Little Ship of Horrors!!!






Kate and I decided to do a day trip up to Rhode Island. Yes, yes, I know, we were nuts to want to drive from NYC to Rhode Island and back in a day, but oh man, oh man IT WAS WORTH IT. After 5 hours in a car and getting upset that we wouldn't make curtain, we arrived at 8 pm on the dot. Here we were in Wakefield Rhode Island running up the stairs to get our seats. We were here to support our dear friend and fellow Ground Upper. The show started and what we got was more than a man eating plant, we got a garden full of wonder. The show was wonderful and Guy was fantastic. It was so enjoyable that I honestly forgot that I had spent 5 hours in a car. The show directed by Amiee Tuner was so much fun. You hear horror (no pun intended) stories about summer stock but I have to tell you, Theatre By The Sea gave its audience a delightful show full of great talent, fun direction, and lots of fun music!



After the show, Kate and I were in no mood to head back. We wanted to stay, we wanted to have fun, we wanted to celebrate with Guy. So off we went down the street to the main part of Wakefield where we found a pizza joint. We ordered a pie and was told it would be ready in "15 minutes", so what do we do, we book it across the street to go to down a beer on the roof of an Irish Pub next to the ocean. No joke. Pretty amazing, right? We toasted Guy's awesome performance and great show then we ran back on over and downed an entire pizza pie. You see, in the 5 hour drive, we forgot to eat!!!



The night had come to an end and it was time to head back, well, I thought it was the end of the night. We said bye to Guy and started driving back to NYC through Connecticut when we passed Foxwoods casino. I never have been and we were so full of energy that we decided to make this a real road trip and be adventurous. So we parked the car and hit the slot machines. After losing miserably we both were not defeated. We were determined. We hit the tables, black jack that is, and my oh my. I went first and lost. Then Kate decides to go and as Kate has proven over and over again, she is a STAR! She was spectacular playing the role of the innocent southern girl trying her hand at a big man's game. Win after win after win she turns around and triples her money. That's right folks. She Tripled her money!!! She gave an Oscar performance and would have put Paul Newman to shame in the Color of Money.



Kate looked at me and goes "can I stop now?". I said Heck yeah girl. She cashed her chips in, we hit the road, stopped for caffeine and combos and headed back to NYC.



Our day was about theatre and taking a gamble and to be honest, that's what we do every day. We take a gamble in hopes that we can create astounding theater that you, our audience can love. It's a gamble, but when we win, we win big and that makes the early losses at the slot machine worth it!



- Phil

A Southern Touch

Hi everyone. My name is Josh Evans and I am a new member of Ground UP Productions. This is my first blog post…ever, and I am quite excited to that Ground UP can take my blog virginity.

One of the traits that attracted me to Ground UP Productions is their hands on approach with their patrons. In fact, it's quite southern. And as most of you know, our theatre company is full of graduates of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We are proud to have brought that southern hospitality to the New York stage.

In fact, earlier this year we called over 50% of our patrons just to say, “thank you.” We send out personal emails and holiday cards, and even passed around cake at our annual Gala event (see the photos below).

The first half of 2010 has been special for us and it is because of our patrons we are able to have the programs that make us a southern transplant in NYC. In fact, at the end of August, we are heading down to Chapel Hill for the 5^th year of our Educational Outreach Program with the UNC undergraduate drama students…but you will hear more about that later.

I got run look at apartments now…you know how New York real estate can be. Thank you for reading my first blog post ever.

Make sure to visit us at groundupproductions.org for more info about our educational program and our upcoming fall production of LETTER FROM ALEGERIA.

See you on the boards.

-Josh

True Blood...

OK, so I just have to say that I am really really excited. And this doesn't have anything to do with Ground UP. Sorry.

Even in Season 3, True Blood is still one of my favorite TV shows.
And... I just booked a VO as a red-necky caller that doesn't understand why if "vampires been round for thousands of years, how come there ain't no mention of 'em in the bible?"

YAY.
I am very proud to be allowed to be red-necky once again.
Vampires rule. And my day job is officially weird.
ps: Eric is hot this season.

Surround Events Announced

Last year for our production of BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, we hosted several surround events, ranging from talkbacks with Penny Fuller, who starred in the play on Broadway in the 1960s, to hula hoop nights. They were a huge success, and we’ve amped up our surround events for LETTER FROM ALGERIA, our upcoming fall production. Performances run October 29 through November 20, 2010 at the June Havoc Theatre at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 W. 36th St., NYC).

LETTER FROM ALGERIA takes place in Belgium and Algeria, and many of our events reflect these two locations. Here’s a preview of our surround events. All are free with your admission to the show. Go ahead and buy your tickets now!

LETTER FROM ALGERIA SURROUND EVENTS

Saturday, October 30 - Opening Night Halloween Post-Show Bash. Celebrate the show’s opening with cast and crew. Enjoy candy and drinks!
Sunday, October 31 -- Belgium Brunch. At Intermission, we will serve yummy Belgian waffles!
Tuesday, November 2 -- Belgian Beer Garden. Pre- and Post-Show. Join us at 36 West Bar and Grill just next door; Dollar off Drinks with the Code Ground UP!
Wednesday, November 3 -- Belly Dancing. Enjoy a free Belly Dancing demonstration and class starting at 7:15pm in the June Havoc Theatre lobby.
Thursday, November 4 – Singles Night. Get ready to mingle during intermission and post-show with other singles.
Sunday, November 7 – North African Affairs. We will host a speaker on North African history after the matinee performance.

Tuesday, November 9 – Student ID Night. Young or old, bring your student ID and get $5 off tickets at the door.

Wednesday, November 10 – Belgian Beer Garden. Pre- and Post- Show. Join us at 36 West Bar and Grill just next door; Dollar off Drinks with the Code Ground UP!

We will announce a few other events in the next couple of weeks. We look forward to seeing you at LETTER FROM ALGERIA.

It was 102 degrees today!

Hey all,

It's Guy O. again. I'm writing from the tiny state of Rhode Island where I am working this summer. I'm playing Seymour in a production of Little Shop of Horrors at Theatre By The Sea. One of my very, very, very, very favorite plays!! If you're in Rhode Island, randomly - come check it out - the production is going to be AMAZING. Here's our Audrey 2.

Sorry for the shameless self-promotion. BUT, it does bring me to a point about Ground UP. We've been trying to find a musical to do, and we keep asking for the rights to Little Shop of Horrors, and getting turned down!! The publishing company doesn't want it done in Manhattan, so that if they decide to revive it, that they have first crack at it. Or something like that. They don't give very clear reasons. But Kate and I have been dying to do it for a few years now. It'd be great, right? We have a fun concept. Maybe one day we'll get the chance to do it for all of you.

Oh, and it was 102 degrees here today. Just saying. The theater is not air conditioned.

Going to take a dip in the ocean to cool off. Stay cool.

XO,

GO

I feel like an old man. Right now I am at summer camp (theater boot camp), I am 33 years old and I am surrounded by 9 year olds.
It is actually quite amazing to get a musical up on its feet in one week. There is no time for dress rehearsal, the only performance is the rehearsal! It is sink or swim with children who have never been in a performance, and by the end of this summer I will have produced five full scale musicals.
This blog is using up the 15 min of free time I have, but come August I will be able to build a full scale production of "Rent" with 2 paper clips, a flash light, and 6 rubber bands. Got to go there is the bugle call and it is chicken nugget night.

Old Man Dan

Fun 4th in VT...

HAPPY 4th of JULY everyone!
Hope that you all had a great weekend...



Here is a pic from our fireworks picnic in VT this weekend.
Travis, Mark, me and Wade!