Guest Blogger: Dalton Allison

As Assistant Director of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, I have gotten to know several of the young performers that are participating in the production. I sat down with Sophie Verhalen, who plays Mr. Fox.

The moment I found out that I would have the privilege of Assistant Directing the all-youth production of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, I felt a certain excitement boil within me. I would be able to see the production of a show from a different point of view, the directorial view. The part that I was excited about most was the part that the actors dread the most- The Big Bad Audition. 

It is too often a narrative that students who study theater in school are lamented upon, often being slandered as 'Theater Geeks' or 'Drama Nerds' But do the students who have been exposed to theater and other forms of the arts actually hold an advantage over students that don't?

Around the holidays, one always tends to gravitate towards family. They often eat large dinners, shop lavishly, and do other holiday oriented activities together. They might even see a holiday production at their local theater. But little do they know, while they are enjoying the show with their family, they are actually watching one on stage.

In Netcong, New Jersey, the Growing Stage Theater is known for producing high quality productions such as Peter and The Starcatcher and A Christmas Carol. One of the more unique aspects of the Growing Stage though is an annual New Play Reading Festival. Each year, the theater selects four unpublished plays from authors all around the globe. These plays are read in front of a live audience, and are recorded to see how the audience reacts to their piece. The authors then have an interim period of editing before the second round of readings, which happen in the spring. The winning piece of the festival gets the most rewarding prize imaginable, as their piece becomes a full, main stage production at The Growing Stage the following season. 

Besides Damn Yankees, there is not much common ground between the baseball world and the theater world. In case you have not heard, the Chicago Cubs have finally climbed back to the World Series after years of missed chances and deflating blunders by players and Cubs fans alike. The Cubs have not won a World Series Title since 1908, nor made an appearance in the series itself since 1945. What does any of this have to do with Broadway or theater in general? Well, it turns out 1945 was a pretty interesting year in the theater world.

As a member of the cast of A Christmas Carol, I am able to get to know the actors that get to grace the stage beside me better than most people. In Meet the Carolers, I try to bring the actors to you, so you can know these special people like I do. This week, you get to meet John Patrick Cleary, who portrays Ebenezer Scrooge.

Nestled in the lakeside community of Netcong, New Jersey sits The Palace Theater, home of the Growing Stage Theater. When attending a main stage production, you'll not only watch a high-quality show, but also see an elaborate set designed by Perry Kroeger and Stephen Fredricks. The only thing more astonishing than the set is what the set is made of-cardboard. You may be asking yourself, How can such a flimsy material be chosen as the main material on set? Executive Director Stephen Fredricks explains. 'Honestly the inspiration came from the cost of buying wood. At the time the theatre couldn't afford sheets of plywood and other such materials, so we needed to find an affordable alternative. Perry Kroeger and I would visit all the area appliance stores on Thursdays - right after they had their deliveries for the weekend sales. Refrigerator and mattress containers were gold! We called it our weekly dumpster diving exercise. In time we discovered a company that sold cardboard in 4'x 8' sheets and then rest is history.'