Sunday, June 26, 2011

Smokey Joe's Cafe - Tech Week!

Right now, I'm sitting in the seats at Texas Repertory Theatre after our first of two runthroughs of the our upcoming production of Smokey Joe's Cafe.  After a fast and furious rehearsal process, the show has finally started coming together.  On Friday night, we had our sitzprobe, which is the first time the band and singers all get to work together.  This always happens to be my favorite rehearsal for any show that I do.  It always seems like the energy of a production always seems to really ramp up after the sitzprobe, which is also why I always like to wait until the last possible moment to schedule it.  At Texas Rep, this usually happens somewhere between the last Friday or Saturday before opening.  It is always so exciting for me the first time the cast hears the band play.  Through all the shows that I've done, I've always prided myself on the quality of the bands that I put together.  I enjoy working with a cast and teaching them the notes and making a cast really sound great, but when it comes down to it, I always insist that I have the best possible orchestra, and once again, I think I've got the right group of guys together!

The sitzprobe the other night was just incredible!!! I don't think I've ever been this excited for my friends and family to hear a show that I've done.  That's not to say that it is perfect right now, but I think that we are in a very good position as we still have 4 days until our opening night.  I hope you will all be able to make it out to see the show!!  Texas Repertory Theatre is up on the northwest side of Houston (on Steubner-Airline and FM 1960).   It is a great place to see a show, so please come out.  I think you'll all enjoy it!!

I'll keep you all posted with the reviews as they start coming out after opening night!

Peace Out,
Luke

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Father's Day 2011

The Perfect Gift!

So, it is official, I have an amazing wife!!  Not that I didn't already know that, but for my first Father's day, she and Carter made me a personalized poster!  As you can see in the picture above, it is just something simple made with a poster board and some thoughtful finger painting.  I am such a fan of simple gifts that don't cost much.  This poster will certainly be framed soon and kept forever.  :)  Blythe, Thank you for my perfect gift!  This poster will always be how I remember my first Father's Day!


For Dad

To celebrate my dad on this Father's Day, we all went to Landry's Restaurant in Kemah, TX.  As I posted in my last blog, this was a very exciting weekend because of my cousin's wedding, and also because I got to spend time with both of my brothers.  These times that we can all be together have become very rare for us over the last several years with getting older and going to college.  Now, with all three of us married, getting together on a consistent basis has become very difficult. 

Although, as exciting as it is for us brothers just to get to spend time together, the real excitement of the day was centered around celebrating our "paterfamilias."  (To quote the movie, Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?)

There is, absolutely, no chance that my brothers and I could be the men that we are without the example that we were able to grow up following.  As boys, we had the opportunity to watch dad and how he handled almost every situation.  Dad has always worked hard as a doctor to provide for our family, even beyond what we needed.  We got to spend quite a bit of time with dad while doing anything involved with baseball.  Whether it was a lazy day during the summer that dad just wanted to take us to hit some balls around our little league field, playing catch in our front yard, or taking us to see the Houston Astros play at the Astrodome or, what is now, Minute Maid Park, these opportunities always provided us with the opportunity to spend time with dad.  There are so many life lessons that my brothers and I learned on or around a baseball field.

I consider myself especially thankful to have a dad that has always been supportive and encouraged me to always do my best at everything I do.  The only thing my dad every let me give up on was basketball. . .and that is because I was terrible!!  I remember talking to my dad when I was 10, saying that I wanted to quit baseball.  My feelings were hurt because I did not make the little league all-star team.  My dad found a way to use it as motivation for me to get better to try to make the team the next year.  Sure enough, I ended up making the team when I was 11.  Then, in high school, the same thing happened with the high school baseball team.  When I didn't make the team my sophomore year, my dad gave me the same speech about using it as motivation to work harder and get better so that I could make the team for my junior year.  I ended up making the team the next year!  

However, the best example of my dad's constant support for me (and really my mother, too) is displayed in what I do for a living.  I started playing the piano when I was 11 years old.  As I started to learn easy songs on the piano, my dad would come home from work and ask me to play a new song for him.  He never asked in a way that I felt like I had to play, but rather, he asked me in a way that always encouraged me to be able to play a new song for him every day when he got home.  I never realized that this would help me in my future career choice.  I am convinced that doing this because of my dad's kind words helped me practice my sight reading skills on the piano when I didn't even realize it which ended up being a skill that I will use my entire life.   Every day after school, all I could think was that I couldn't wait to get home and learn a new song for dad.  I'll never forget the day that he opened a book to the song How are Things in Glocca Mora and said, "If you learn to play this song, I'll be your dad forever."  Of course he was kidding. But dad,  I now how to play How are Things in Glocca Mora.  :)   Every night I spend in rehearsals, or playing a performance, I know how lucky I am because I have two parents that have never discouraged me from doing what I do.  In this business, I have so many close friends that tell stories of their parents telling them that they needed to "Do something that had more earning potential for a career."  My mom and dad have never been anything but supportive by telling me that if I want to be a pianist and music director, I should always try to be the best pianist and music director that I can be.  For that, I will always be thankful.

So, although this may be a few days late, I hope you can all understand that I am so thankful for my dad and the example that he has been for me through my entire life.  I've always told my wife, Blythe, that, "If I can end up being HALF the man my dad is, I'd say that I've done very well, and better than most." 

Dad, I love you, and will forever be proud to call you "My Dad." 

Friday, June 17, 2011

An Exciting Weekend Ahead!

This weekend is one that I, like the rest of my family, have been looking forward to for a long time!!  We are in Giddings, TX this weekend for my cousin Justin's wedding.  I'm extremely excited because this event is allowing me to get some quality time with both of my brothers!  Danny flew in from New York on Thursday night, and Toby and his wife, Kristin, met us in Giddings today.  I love these times that we can all be together because it typically only happens about twice a year. . .Three times in a year if we're lucky.  Unfortunately, Danny's wife, Kathleen, was unable to make the trip because she is doing a show right now in Connecticut.  She got a fantastic review from a very important critic last week, and I wish like crazy that we could take a trip up there to see it.

Where Have You Been?
Since my most recent blog post, a lot has happened.  My first year of teaching came to a successful end, although I was asked to move to another school in our district.  The school district that I work in added a new middle school this year so some of the other schools had to adjust their boundaries.  For Goodson (where I was), this meant a huge drop off in the number of students, so it meant that the choir department would have to go back to only having one choir director.  I was then asked to move to Smith Middle School.  It seems like it is going to be a great fit for me.  The choir program is really great, the campus is almost brand new, and I really got along well with the head choir director that is there in my interview!  So, as much as I hate to leave Goodson, I think that I am being sent to a place that I can be successful!

Well, with the end of my first school year.  Things will not be slowing down for me at all.  During the days right now, I am lucky enough to be playing the piano for the music theatre summer camps at TUTS!  This is my third year to be a part of this program, and I love every minute of it. . . Especially because I'm paid by the hour! ;)   The kids there are really fantastic, and they really do love being there!  That by itself makes for a very different atmosphere than the public school job.  

At night right now, I am currently rehearsing for my third production of Smokey Joe's Cafe!  This cast is just unbelievable!  When I heard that Texas Rep would be doing this show and that they wanted me to be their music director, I immediately started questioning if we would really be able to get the talent level we needed to really make the show exciting. Well, I can tell you. . .  We were!  Our music rehearsals went very well!  Now that we are in to staging/choreography rehearsals, the music isn't quite as sharp as it was, but that is to be expected with such a dance heavy show.  It is always a battle to keep the music tight and exciting when the singers are now asked to dance and make their movements sharp and exciting as well.  But, this is one of those shows that I simply will not relax with.  I am terribly passionate about this score, and I know exactly how I want it to sound.  Because of what I heard in my music rehearsals, I know this cast can give me the sound I want while just standing and singing.  Now, we have a battle to fight as they start moving around the stage!

I'll Be Back Soon!
Well, I promise it won't take so long for my next post.  I've got an exciting weekend ahead of me, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!

Peace Out,
Luke