"No Day But Today" | RENT musical videotaping | Sandwich, IL

I love the musical RENT. It's what I identified with all through high school. Granted, I wasn't in exactly the same situation as the characters in Jonathan Larson's musical, but I was a shy kid who hid behind the lens of a camera much like the main character Mark. Anyhow, I spent grades 9-12 with the lyrics always running through my head.

I literally BEGGED to videotape this musical when I found out that Indian Valley Theatre would be producing the show at Sandwich Opera House. I have seen (and videotaped) this group of kids perform in several different musicals over the past three years, but I was super excited to see their transformation and adaption of my favorite show. It did not disappoint. In fact, I recently rented Broadway's live last performance of RENT, and some of these guys outshone the actors on Broadway!!!

Here is a link to view highlights from the videotaping. Video by Linnea Nowak, Photos by Joe Nowak. Copyright Images to Adore.

Duo of Magical Tales

We're about to mail out Children's Community Theater's DVD's and photos from last month's production of "Duo of Magical Tales".  This was a retelling of two of my favorite fairytales: Cinderella and Aladdin!  The performance was magical, and I could not believe the tremendous talent of some of the young actors!

Before I transfered to film school, I minored in theater for two years at NIU.  It was wonderful to be back at the O'Connell Theater after so many years!  The smell of sawdust from set construction instantly transported me back 10 years!  I can't wait for CCT's next productions coming soon!

(My daughter Beth celebrates her 4th birthday soon.  One of her presents was enrolling her in a tot acting class at the Bartlett Park District.  She loves playing dress up and pretending she's a princess, so now she can make some friends and act out fairy tales at the same time.  She'll be in heaven!)