Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Opening-Night Rituals

Circle Circle dot dot opens The Break Up/Break Down on Saturday at Tenth Avenue Theatre. The play, by Katherine Harroff, and the company are brand new. So what will the cast do in the hours and minutes before the big event?

Stick to pre-show rituals: physical stretching and vocal exercises. The latter includes singing musical scales, doing tongue twisters, reciting lines (Kyle Sorrell must "say each word I say in the show without missing one"). When combined, the vocal warm-ups bounce an eerie kind of music off the walls.

Melissa Coleman-Reed begins her vocals in the shower. At the theater she also warms up her eyes. "Visually taking in the space" helps her to cross the threshold from the outside world into the world of the play.

Wendy Savage makes that transition be dressing up for opening night. "There's something small but fun for me! Putting on a dress for a girl who lives in jeans is a big deal!"

Evan Kendig admits he's anything but relaxed. "Compulsive? I can't keep my mouth shut for a hot New York minute." To turn "nervous energy into excitement" he jokes and kids with fellow cast members until "its time to put my game face on."

Patrick Kelly wants opening night to be like any other. When the audience begins to arrive he'll seek a quiet place where he can "center myself before joining the cast and the electricity of the dressing room." Then more quiet to "step into character and onto the stage."

Samantha Ginn starts her ritual with an iced Latte. In her car, she "dances to GaGa." At half hour (before curtain), she recites lines, "paces uncontrollably, visits the rest room for the baker's-dozenth time," and deep breathes. Just before lights up, she says a prayer.

Opening night begins the night before for Katherine Harroff, author of the play and co-founder of the company. That's when her "theater brain" takes control over every thing I need to do." She finds the actual opening a blessing. "I feel balanced and at peace that my life has continuously given me the opportunity to make art."

<

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Spa-Like Facial Treatment From Home - This Red Light Therapy Mask Makes It Possible

Next Article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots

Circle Circle dot dot opens The Break Up/Break Down on Saturday at Tenth Avenue Theatre. The play, by Katherine Harroff, and the company are brand new. So what will the cast do in the hours and minutes before the big event?

Stick to pre-show rituals: physical stretching and vocal exercises. The latter includes singing musical scales, doing tongue twisters, reciting lines (Kyle Sorrell must "say each word I say in the show without missing one"). When combined, the vocal warm-ups bounce an eerie kind of music off the walls.

Melissa Coleman-Reed begins her vocals in the shower. At the theater she also warms up her eyes. "Visually taking in the space" helps her to cross the threshold from the outside world into the world of the play.

Wendy Savage makes that transition be dressing up for opening night. "There's something small but fun for me! Putting on a dress for a girl who lives in jeans is a big deal!"

Evan Kendig admits he's anything but relaxed. "Compulsive? I can't keep my mouth shut for a hot New York minute." To turn "nervous energy into excitement" he jokes and kids with fellow cast members until "its time to put my game face on."

Patrick Kelly wants opening night to be like any other. When the audience begins to arrive he'll seek a quiet place where he can "center myself before joining the cast and the electricity of the dressing room." Then more quiet to "step into character and onto the stage."

Samantha Ginn starts her ritual with an iced Latte. In her car, she "dances to GaGa." At half hour (before curtain), she recites lines, "paces uncontrollably, visits the rest room for the baker's-dozenth time," and deep breathes. Just before lights up, she says a prayer.

Opening night begins the night before for Katherine Harroff, author of the play and co-founder of the company. That's when her "theater brain" takes control over every thing I need to do." She finds the actual opening a blessing. "I feel balanced and at peace that my life has continuously given me the opportunity to make art."

<

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Loud Noises!!!!!

Next Article

Humble charmer

San Diego I Love You 3.0 at Circle Circle dot dot rough around the edges but rewarding
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader