Tag Archives: Steve Schroeder

Endeavor: Getting Back into the (Workout) Groove

Leave a reply

So a friend of mine has been participating in a nationwide event called: Health Kwest… put together by Genghis Grill.

From their website:

Health Kwest is Genghis Grill’s Healthy-Influenced campaign where we adopt one contestant per location to eat Genghis Grill once a day, for 60 days all while losing weight, exercising and completing social media tasks.

My friend applied and is now representing the Wheaton Genghis Grill… and I am very proud of him.

He keeps up a Tumblr with various blog posts about what bowls he has put together, the various social media tasks and other odds and ends and thoughts and promises to do so from now until at least the end of the 60 day journey.

So, naturally, as a friend I will do what I can to help him out and well… join him in various group classes because I am cray cray like that. Well that and the fact that it is far more fun to workout with friends than by yourself.

Continue reading →

Review: Wheaton Drama’s It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Show

Leave a reply
Show: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE RADIO SHOW
Produced by: 		Location: Wheaton Drama
Director: Sean Ogren

Earlier in December of 2012, a friend of mine and I went to Wheaton Drama to see a bunch of our friends in the holiday radio show “It’s a Wonderful Life”. When I say “a bunch” I mean I knew a fair number of the case right of the bat… (I know that is considered par for the course for me). Anyway what is different about this particular radio show was the addition of a children’s dance troupe from Geneva.

Before I move on here were some first impressions:
Acting: like
Singing: like
Choreography: meh
Staging: like
Sound Effects: love

One of the first things I noticed is that while the audience was trickling into the theatre, various members of the cast were already fully in character, interacting with the audience. It was strange having this sense of being transported into a different decade completely and feeling a sense of being part of the live audience for such a production.

Off to the side of the stage was a couple of tables that were set up for what it would appear to be the “sound effects” guys for the production. Helmed by R J Ogren and Peter Lemongelli, I knew instinctively that we were in for a real treat.

The radio program was hosted by Randy Knott (also known as Count Carl-Magnus in VTG’s A Little Night Music) who was cracking jokes towards the audience and the sound effect guys. However, who really stole the pre-show was Steve Schroeder and his antics of dinging a bell and pointing randomly “and you get wings” *ding* “and you get wings” *ding* “and you get wings”… well you get the idea. That damn guy keeps stealing the show no matter where he is at… but I digress.

Continue reading →

Review: Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s The War of the Worlds

Show: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
Book: H G Wells 		Location: Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
Director: Pam Turlow

Earlier this week, I decided to watch / listen to a group of volunteers recreate the radio program by H.G. Wells: The War of the Worlds. I have always been a fan of old-time radio programs ever since I started to learn how to drive… and as thus would listen to the radio often (particularly late late at night).

So when friends of mine told me about this production that they were all a part of… I figured “why not?” I have been listening to other radio program of a similar notion via 780 WBBM, but to see it live is something else.

But before I go on from the website of Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear:

[They] are a group of Chicagoland actors and performers who share a common interest—to perform old time radio programs for the community.

[…]

The entire company is made up of volunteers who donate their time to recreate these shows from the Golden Age of Radio for the Chicagoland community. It takes quite some effort to browse through the thousands of old time radio episodes, select a favorite, listen and type out the script—many of these are not available in print and have to be painstakingly transcribed—gather sound effects, then rehearse and mount the production.

Although we are only to give these historical programs a new life a few times a year, we strive to make sure that it’s well worth the wait.

It would appear that most (if not all) of their productions take place at the Oak Park Arms in Oak Park, Illinois… and have been doing so since September of 2002. The majority of their eclectic programming come from the Golden Age of Radio.

What is there to say about it?
Continue reading →

Review: Village Theatre Guild’s A Little Night Music

Show: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: Hugh Wheeler 		Location: Village Theatre Guild
Director: Craig Gustafson
Music Director: Douglas Orlyk

I am not going to lie, this was one production that I was looking forward to all year. Take that a step further… I was even more excited when the cast list first came out… to the point that I was jumping up and down in excitement and glee because it included several heavy hitters in the theatre community (Steve Schroeder, Pam Turlow, Susan O’Byrne, Randall Knott), relative novices (Teresa Reinalda), favorites (Heather Miller, Patty Yuen, Justin Triezenberg) and everyone else in between.

This blend of talents made for a very beautiful, well-crafted production of A Little Night Music that should be lasting longer than the original one month run.

First let us start with the director: Craig Gustafson. He has been known throughout the community to helm some very strong productions over the years… most recently Assassins at the Geneva Underground Playhouse and the Broadway Ballot at Wheaton Drama. This production of A Little Night Music is not just the exception to the rule… but the standard (for black box theatre productions).

With a strong production team that includes Douglas Orlyk as Musical Director and RJ Ogren as Set Designer… Craig masterfully directs this timeless production from the large stage into a small black box theatre with sitting only available for just short of sixty people per show. At first glance, one could only wonder at how a stage production such as A Little Night Music could fit into such a small venue… however it only takes about five minutes into the production to marvel at how effortlessly the cast and production team were able to put such a production up in an very efficient and effective manner.

A feat of engineering as I would call it… unlike myself I do not believe any one of them are engineers! How could I not be impressed? 😉

The set (as conceived by RJ Ogren) was gorgeous as we have come to almost expect out of him, but not just that it was also very functional. At the far ends of either side are platforms for various scenes that do not require much movement or interaction and the center stage area is set aside for the majority of the larger scenes. One platform however is designated for the various bedroom scenes one finds in A Little Night Music (take that as you will) while the other blends from moments of Madam Armfeldt with her granddaughter Fredricka to moments that members of the quintet have to themselves between scene changes.

Anyway… enough about the production team… what about the cast? Before I start talking about the cast… let’s find out who they are:

CHARACTER ACTOR
Desiree Armfeldt Pam Turlow
Fredrik Egerman Mark Mavetz
Anne Egerman Teresa J Arnold
Henrik Egerman Justin Triezenberg
Petra Heather Miller
Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm Randall W Knott
Charlotte Malcolm Karen Bronson
Fredrika Armfeldt Brynn Frantz
Madame Armfeldt Teresa Reinalda
Frid Peter Lemongelli
Mrs Anderssen Patty Yuen
Mr Erlanson Stan Austin
Mr Lindquist Steve Schroeder
Mrs Nordstrom Becky Messerschmidt
Mrs Segstrom Susan O’Byrne

But where do I begin with the cast?
Continue reading →