Gratitude

This post is from Open Dream Ensemble General Manager and Artistic Producer, Rebecca Nussbaum.

Open Dream Ensemble is now in its ninth season! When I reflect back on the years of productions, performances, residencies, and web series, I am filled with gratitude. I am thankful to the cast members, the creative teams, the writers and the directors. I am thankful to the Kenan Institute for the Arts for its ongoing help and to UNCSA for the talent it develops. I am thankful to the arts organizations that book Open Dream and the schools that host us.

 By the numbers alone, Open Dream has now completed its 36th school residency (with over 2500 individual classes instructed), and has performed 450 times for approximately 180,000 youth in 40 North Carolina Counties. The talents and dedication from the 46 cast members over these years has been inspiring and has brought joy, wonder, and original musical theater across North Carolina.

With three weeks remaining in this season, the Open Dream cast is currently performing in Virginia.  This cast of eight has committed to the work of Open Dream with open heart and minds. They have stretched themselves to perform at their best on stage and in the classroom. And to them, I am thankful.

Big Days for Big Shoes

This post is from Cameron MacManus. He is pictured here being hoisted up by the other Open Dreamers in the role of Alexander.

This week we are starting to take Big Shoes on the road. There is something really cool about meeting in the UNCSA parking lot before dawn. The air has this certain energy and a feeling of anticipation at the approach of first light. Still, the cast predictably looks a bit groggy. Everyone sips on a morning coffee or breakfast smoothie and compares notes on sleep quantity and quality. Then, right at the appointed time, we all pile into the van and head out on a new adventure. Some of the passengers stake out a space to sink down into for a few moments of repose. The van rolls into a school or theater parking lot and we all work to unload the gear, arrange our props, and then get our voices and limbs in working order. When showtime arrives we are ‘on it’ - ready to spring into action to deliver a performance that will stick with our young audiences forever. Today we were in Hickory, and then it's on to Mocksville and Cherokee. I have such wonderful memories of exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway and swimming in a frigid creek with last year's cast, and I hope we will have the opportunity for a hike with the entire cast during the mountain portion of our touring schedule this year. Time to catch some ZZZs. There is a big day ahead!

Let's Do This!!!

Hello all, Wiley here and ready to go as the show moves closer and closer to performance time. This is one of my favorite times as an actor because its when I get to craft my performance in a more specific way. We have moved out of rehearsal work and into performance work. This requires a different kind of concentration because you are working towards something that must be repeated consistently so many times. I studied directing for the past two years so its quite a relief to dive back into performing especially with such a wonderfully creative ensemble and director. Big Shoes, lets do this!!!

November 2

This post is from Cameron MacManus. A trombonist by training, Cameron has been walking in the shoes of an actor as the protagonist of Big Shoes, Gordy.

A few days ago we Open Dreamers met again in room 126 of the UNCSA Drama School building to work on Julianne Harper's inventive new choreography for the upcoming Discovery Concert with the Winston-Salem Symphony. It was interesting to be in the same space that we had utilized for our teaching artist training at the beginning of our season. We are in a much different 'space' now, having performed, toured, taught, and lived together now for several months. I find myself getting a bit nostalgic for the strange, fun, amazing times we have shared and wondering if I'll actually miss the more taxing parts of our journey as well once we hang up Big Shoes in a few weeks. Yesterday, we performed for a wonderful group of students in Warsaw, NC in the eastern part of our state. Gordy - my character - had just fallen asleep in the robber's house when the commotion started. "Don't fall asleep!", "Lookout!", and all manner of concerned warnings came from the audience as The Robber (Ted Federle) slinked onto the stage to steal Alexander's shoes. When Gordy woke, peered out the window, and noticed The Robber, the cries grew still more emphatic. "Get out of the house!", "Jump out of the window!" exclaimed the children. It is great to have such an invested audience. A few days prior, Gordy managed to convince a whole gym full of children to turn and look for Blue Bear when in fact Ted's mid-season illness kept that character out of Topsy-Turvy all together. It seems there is still plenty of room in the toes of these old Big Shoes for more fun. I plan on enjoying every moment of our season as it all-too-quickly approaches its conclusion.

Halloween!!!

Is today, and we are spending our time figuring out our costumes. Not for tonight, but the upcoming discovery concert with the Winston Salem symphony. The array is pretty awesome, Cameron is in the corner headless, William has pulled his pants up to his waist as Grandpa and Michaela is dancing around as a duck. I for one am basking in my character, the Cat. I've had cats all my life and can finally say it was for character study!!! See mom it was all worth it. Other than that, our finish line is quickly approaching and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Today we had yet another performance for yet another school and yet again the kids blew me away. They reacted as if they'd never seen a play, which they probably hadn't, and ooh and aah and were quite vocal. They even yelled at Gordy to get out of the house before the Robber came and one kid decided jumping out the window was Gordy's best option. As rowdy as they were it was a pretty special thing for me to do, and I hope they take something away from this that'll further their aspirations. Or maybe just make them think about art as a fun and exciting thing. This post is from Miss Marine Madesclaire. As Season Eight of Open Dream Ensemble draws to a close (in 15 days!) it is amazing to reflect that, among other things, Marine has taken on the role of a teaching artist, learned to play the mandolin, and proven her prowess as a cat!

Every Day a New Adventure

This post is from the fantastic Mr. Cameron. He is pictured here as Gordy in Big Shoes.

I can’t believe that this year’s “Big Shoes” experience is more than half way over. It has flown by so fast. Instead of griping about the heat during endless load-ins and outs I gripe about the early morning chill. We have now performed “Big Shoes” for thousands of spellbound students and shepherded them along their own imaginary adventures in the classroom. I am getting better conveying Gordy’s emotional life on stage and gauging what needs to happen in the classroom. Still, every day holds surprises: an unanticipated reaction, or an improvised moment on stage and in the classroom that keeps me on my toes. The Open Dream Ensemble cast has also started rehearsing for a performance of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” with the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra. Our choreographer Julianne Harper cast me as one of the hunters. Sweet! My trombone serves as my rifle and I wield it with a great measure of pride as well as comic ineptitude. Outside of the Open Dream Ensemble I continue to work on my music. I’m getting involved with some regional swing to salsa groups and having a great time trying to gain some degree of proficiency on the tenor saxophone . . . every day a new adventure.

I'm Peter

This post is from the fantastically versatile Haydee Thompson, pictured here as a pirate in Open Dream Ensemble's The Amazing Adventure of Anna Marie.

I'm PETER!!! In Peter and the Wolf with the W-S Symphony. Started rehearsal today. Pinching myself truly! This will be the largest band I have ever fronted. I was asked today if I have ever before played a "pants role". I have. I've professionally played a pirate and once, when I was 16, the Santa on the Hershey Park Trolley fell sick and I was, somehow, the most qualified around to cover his shift. I also played a bearded woman, but that really doesn't count. This role is less a "pants" challenge then an "age' challenge. Peter is a young boy and I'm playing him @ 7yrs. It is indescribable the magic that happens when you can dismiss the weight and worry of being an adult and, as your profession, get paid for the opportunity to escape into a child's brain and body. I have spent the past six years teaching and studying "a many hundred" kids while coasting upon, as well as directing, their worlds of imagination and wonder. Peter is a dream role and I hope an homage to all of them.

Diligent and Cerebral

This post is from our prized veteran Open Dreamer, Haydee Thompson. Through the years she has guided one dancer and now five musicians in the craft of teaching artistry. She is pictured here working with a group of fourth-graders last season.



This week we were assigned our teaching partners. I was not surprised when told Cameron would be mine. Every year I am paired with a musician and last year my partner was Guy who was also a trombonist. Drama requires using your body as an instrument and completely relies on the physical, whereas a musicians craft tends to be more cerebral in nature. I like working with musicians. So far I have been lucky to see them as diligent in there facts and enjoying the study of science. I often can rely on them to be a great source of knowledge which inspires me to co-create exciting lesson plans. Cameron is doing a great job and I know it will be an absolute pleasure to work with him this season!

Looking Both Backward and Forward

This post is from our fantastic singing/dancing/bassguitarmandolin-playing Cobbler, William vonReichbauer. He is pictured here as a teaching artist during one of our residencies last season.


It seems as though the premiere of Big Shoes was only yesterday and we are already three days into our week of teaching artist training. It has been a very productive week, thus far and it is always a joy working with Rebecca, our fearless leader and guide into the magical world of teaching artistry. I am very excited to be teaching partners with Big Shoes playwright and word-ninja, Michaela.

The premiere of Big Shoes went smashingly. We had an amazing audience and I was deeply moved and humbled by the response we received. However, with the launch of the show, we had to say goodbye to our wonderful Director, Beth, and our amazing Stage Manager, Lindsey, both of whom are deeply missed. Also, goodbye and a very special "thank you" to our gracious hosts at the Steven's Center, where we rehearsed for the past four weeks. But although we have to say goodbye to some, we are looking forward to hitting the road and meeting the thousands of students across North Carolina and Virginia who we will reach through this amazing work.

Showtime!

We’ve had a luxurious four weeks of rehearsal to prepare for the world premiere of Big Shoes! The cast has done an admirable job of getting this work ready and polished, the set and costumes are fabulous, the music sounds terrific, the choreography is fun and effective, AND we are all set up in the wonderful UNCSA Performance Place Thrust Theater.

So what do we need now? An audience.

Big Shoes World Premiere
UNCSA Performance Place Thrust Theater
2:00 PM, Saturday, September 1, 2012
FREE and open to the public. No tickets, open seating.

Oh wow. My Fingers Hurt!

This post from the marvelous mandolin-playing Marine Madesclaire!

Somehow in the midst of learning to pass instruments to William, our resident multi-musician, I ended up having to learn to play the mandolin. Well, having is the wrong word. Or not enough words. I ended up having the opportunity to learn to play the mandolin. And boy is it fun!

It's been an interesting process learning to work with different mediums and different artists. The language we all use is English, but we all have our own vocabulary that comes with our craft. It's easy to forget that not everyone has spent the last four years in the Drama department, and it's been fun to watch people learn things I take for granted. And vice versa, of course.

That Robber Not Only Stole My Shoes But My Heart!

This post is from the terrific Ted Federle, pictured here as the Big Shoes Robber of Soles.



Accepting a position with the Open Dream Ensemble I knew I was going to be stretched as a performer but I had no idea what I was in for… Being an Opera singer I have spent most of my time training to act while singing, so I knew I would have to work to make the transition to spoken theater. However, I was pleasantly surprised how easy the transition was. This is in no small part due to the wonderful script by new playwright Michaela Morton. The role of the villainous Robber has fit me like glove in part because as a Baritone I frequently play villains on the Operatic stage, most recently as the land grabbing/neighbor accusing Thomas Putnam in Robert Ward’s The Crucible with Piedmont Opera. As the Robber I get to steal not only peoples shoes but their personalities. Some of my favorites are Carlotta, the fashionista who goes hiking up a mountain in high heals, Edgar the marathon runner and of course Gordy our protagonist whose massively oversized shoes are like walking around in flippers. All in all it has been a blast learning to tap dance from choreographer Julianne Harper and operating Boo Beary Crunch, the coolest blue bear puppet ever (blog post soon to come). This show promises to be a delight for children and the child in each of us, I know it has already stolen my heart.

Endless Possibilities

This post from the wonderful William vonReichbauer. William is pictured here during our reading of Big Shoes -- a new original show Open Dream Ensemble will present next season.


Season seven of the Open Dream Ensemble came to a close on Friday with an energetic and emotional performance of "Peril on the Red Planet" at Clemmons Middle School. Not only was Friday's performance the final performance of season seven, but as this is the last season that ODE is presenting this show, it was likely the final performance of "Peril."

This season has been an intense whirlwind of rehearsing, filming, performing, and teaching. It is hard to believe that three and a half months have passed by so quickly and that we managed to pack in so much. I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this amazing cast and to bring live theater and arts based education to so many students across the state. I was continuously inspired by my fellow cast members who never ceased to amaze me with the dedication and creativity they brought to their work both in the classroom and on the stage.

Just as Diana, Tristan, Demeter, and Dr. Ember begin the next chapter of their lives on a now-habitable Mars, so do we, the cast, begin the next chapters of our lives. Some of us will no doubt work with one another again and a few of us will probably return for another season with the Open Dream Ensemble, but many of us will go our separate ways and pursue our own goals and dreams. "Peril on the Red Planet" ends with Tristan's line, "Now the future holds endless possibilities." Let's hope so.

More Believable

This post is from our "Diana", Danielle Rennalls. Danielle is a graduate of the UNCSA School of Drama with an emphasis on directing.

Our second residency brought more confidence in my abilities as a teaching artist. It's probably been around Day 3 of the 1st week of Wendell's residency before it occurred to me that the classroom space (i.e. maintaining order, keeping students engaged, holding myself accountable for how well they understood/processed the material) wasn't all that different from directing a play in the theater. Like actors, if you gave the student(s) a role, a purpose and/or reason, the activities/task at hand instantly blossomed. I observed this happen time and time again with each grade level- most often with students considered behaviorally or mentally challenged. In fact, during the same residency at Wendell, we learned our 4th grade block would have 4 or 5 behaviorally challenged and 2 developmentally challenged children, whom all learned separately from most of the students. Yet it became apparent during the movement improvisations exploring landforms (and later types of fossilization) these "challenged" were always "in the moment," and hungry for guidance on how to make it more believable.

Goodbye to STARS

This post is from the mighty Marissa. She provided this photo of a card from her class at STARS!


There's a goodbye song we sing with the students at the end of the class each day. This last residency, it was really the end of our time with them. It took a lot of self control to keep the tears back when I sang the last line of the song... "Now, it's time to say goodbye, and we'll see each other again". The sweat and exhaustion of learning how to teach and manage elementary school classes was worth every ounce of effort. The payoff was the adoration of all these fresh, young, wild and beautiful rascals... From the times they made me want to tear my hair out to the moments they had me rolling on the floor with laughter and moved by their individuality and wide open dreams. I have to give a shout-out to my rock star teaching partner, Andrew a.k.a Ace. You are a force of nature, and I'm glad we got to stick this one out together. We did it!!!!!

Now we're all in the home stretch with the teaching behind us and a few performances of Peril on the Red Planet to go. It's racing by, and I'm glad we all get to play some more- doing what we're trained to do. It's hard to believe we'll be leaving each other in less than a week. I'm so proud of every one of us. We're a stellar team.

What is the Open Dream Ensemble?

This post is from Guy Kelpin, a first-year Open Dreamer, trombonist and composer. Indeed, Guy is a graduate of UNCSA Schools of Music AND Filmmaking. Guy is pictured here dancing in the intro of our web series, The Adventures of the Open Dream Ensemble.

Having noticed a change in my regularly scheduled programming, I've been asked by many of my colleagues and acquaintances, "What have you been up to this
fall, Guy?" To which I reply, "I've been a cast member with the Open Dream Ensemble." I've been quite pleasantly surprised by how few times I've actually needed to offer much of an explanation. Many of my friends and fellow musicians seem to be quite familiar with the program, or at least have some preconceived notion of what we do. Many of the people I come in contact with are members of the UNCSA community, and some of them even know former ODE cast members. So, it has been exciting to be part of something that is so well recognized and respected by our local artists and arts-supporters.

Of course, I've also gotten the response of, "Open What Enwhomble? What's that?" (Wow, it's hard not to start singing the web series theme song!) I start to explain, "We are a group of multi-disciplinary UNCSA graduates who tour the state, putting on performances and working with elementary students to integrate the science curriculum through the arts. (*Gasp for breath*) It's been busy, but It's a lot of fun, and it seems to be a really effective way to impact the education system." Overwhelmingly, the response is always, "Wow. That sounds like an awesome idea. I'll bet there are some characters in that cast!" Then, I admit, "Yes, but fortunately, most of our drama stays on the stage." That statement couldn't be more true. Though we do have our moments, all things considered, this cast impresses me with its ability to not only cooperate, but thrive as a group. I feel honored to be included.

Then, I get asked, "Does the ensemble have a road crew?"

..."Yes, there are nine of us."

Things to Treasure

This post is from the amazing Ulung! Through out these 15-weeks of the Open Dream Season, Ulung has made countless contributions in his stage, screen and classroom work. He is pictured here during the web series shoot (in the triangle shirt).


When extraordinary things happen (even the bad ones), I believe in one thing: it can be a good story to tell.

We are at a hotel in Maggie Valley when I write this blogpost. We just got back from dining at Legends Sports Grill, next to the hotel. Well, I've never been to this area before and I'm always excited to see new place. Considering I'm far from home, it doubled the excitement. I enjoyed every place we traveled to. When this is over, I will miss the most frequent view on the road. It's not the green scenery that I'm talking about. It's the "Ryder" sign at the back of the Ryder van which is always be in front of the passenger van / "Happy Van" (with a smiley picture on the door) :) Ehmm… Back to the dinner at Legends Sports… When we were about to leave from the restaurant, Dian had a request for a group picture, she said that this would be her last time with us. Yes, the session will be over soon. Three months period is quite some time. I still remember working with my teaching partner, Julianne, who really knows how I forget things. I really "go somewhere extraordinary" by teaching science in elementary school. I never forget when I learned to pronounce "Don't hurt the rocks!" (hopefully I'm doing it better now). I enjoyed the break time when we did fun stuff like random recording session, photo session, jam session, Catan session, etc. I feel like, I know these guys more and more each day. Everybody is unique and I'm gonna miss it. Last but not least, I just watched the 2nd episode of the web series and I remembered how terrible I was in acting back when we were still in the first weeks of training (at the basement of the Steven's Center). Now I'm more comfortable doing it, because everyone in Open Dream Ensemble are so encouraging and helpful. I'm so glad that I'm part of it.
These three months will be a good story of my life.

Ulung