Hello Alamo! Are we excited???
Just 3 more days until showtime, and I wanted to tell you a little bit more about the practices I went to for Sugar We’re Going Emo.
As many of you know, this show is going to feature a live band. According to co-director Amy Bethard, they were lucky to find a collection of local musicians who were willing to play together.
“We all work very well together. Bill, Corey, Stephen, and Gabriel are well-seasoned…and that makes us coming together a smooth experience,” said guitarist Daniel Torres.
I was there the first night the band practiced with the rest of the cast. I definitely think it adds an extra layer to the revue that makes it much more enjoyable. Hearing these nostalgic songs is amazing, but getting the full experience of the underlying bass, the guitar riffs, the keyed notes feels so much closer to experiencing this emo music through my headphones in middle- and high school.
Each Rebel show I’ve written about seems to take another step into being more integrative and inclusive; true *community* theater. The mission statement has always centered around uplifting voices that are typically drowned out, but adding different collaborative elements into the performance brought a new feel to it.
“When we switched to rehearsing with singers, we would adjust some vamps and motifs to fix the singers and their choreography. Similar to watching gears shift into place,” said keyboardist Gabe Mauger.
I’ve been to a handful of practices, yes, but the non-profit tends to rehearse the same songs and/or choreo according to the day of the week. I know the song list and I’ve seen about 4 numbers that they’ll be doing for the show, but the rest will be a surprise for me. I’m really looking forward to how rehearsing has made the band and the cast meld around each other and work together to create something new and entertaining for this city.
Although co-director Andy Bethard “misses the shadows of backstage work,” he found the experience of putting a show together interesting and worthwhile.
“I was raised on a horse breeding ranch, so imagine a young, skinny teenager in all black clothes with long oily hair belting out Emo music while feeding horses. At first I didn’t want to help direct, but as the first stages of the show got closer, I realized that I had lots of great ideas and, being the elder emo kid of the bunch, I knew my input would be needed and valued.”
With all his experience on previous shows, I observed and can imagine that Andy Bethard was quite instrumental in helping the live band set up, fix audio issues, and sound wonderful in the Otero Artspace. At the end of the day, though, both Andy and Amy wanted to make sure their production team- producer Jonece Tallant, musical director Jordynn Marelich, choreographers Rosie Daffern and Bradley Oliver, and band manager Corey Schumard- and the entire cast know how much they appreciate all their hard work. This vision couldn’t have been brought to life without them.
Last I heard, there were 4 tickets left for Saturday’s show, so good luck. And if you’ve already purchased, I hope to see you opening night!
Salud!
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