Off to work we go

If you were all thinking 'oh they've already won multiple awards and moved past the first level of Sears Festival, their work is done' you were wrong! Our work has just begun. Adjudication notes in hand, Daniel Zeiter-Smith and Kevin Noecker have begun their arduous task of fixing the faults found in the play. La Troupe Royale has just under two months to fix, practice and perfect the changes that are being made before our next performance.

After a week off, Daniel and Kevin handed out the new scripts with all the changes present in order for the characters involved to have time to memorize and understand their new lines. With emphasis on the characters played Tim Boismier, Marc Lanteigne and Tori McLinden, new blocking has to be done to compliment their new lines and character traits. Unfortunately, there is much to learn and remember in a short amount of time for these actors. Thankfully, we have a strong support system behind us to help us with such a stressful endeavor. On march 17th the cast began to practice these new changes.

Furthermore, there were very important costume and makeup changes that needed to be made in order to solidify the characters and their realistic appearance. For example, altering the pants Christine St Pierre wears in order to make her seem older and more motherly was the number one priority. Also, the intensity of the makeup of older characters such as Shannan Ryans motherly character will have to be increased.

FUN FACT! 
Did you know, that by contorting the face so as to force wrinkles and then tracing those wrinkles with eyeliner is a quick and easy way to make an actor appear old on stage? Concentrating on the forehead, around the eyes and the mouth use black eyeliner and blend! Also, using baby powder or white hair spray gives the hair an aged grey appearance which adds to the characters overall elderly look. Here we have Jackson Rae and Natalie Reid in full makeup and hair playing the characters of Robert and Marielle Martin in last years production MDR. For a visual tutorial,  you might enjoy this video. The result is always astounding to the audience members! Don't forget to wear bronzer so the audience doesn't lose your face in the lights, ruining all the hard work that goes into those wrinkles!

With the changes soon to be complete next week La Troupe Royale is hosting a family and friends show at Lajeunesse on March 25th for all those who wish to come and watch the performance before it moves on to compete once more.  Feel free to ask any of the actors or producers for further details. 

Merde! 

Sources 

https://www.youtube.com/user/CostumersManifesto

Victory!

At long last the awaited Sears Fest performance came and went for La Troupe Royale. February 25th 2014 the cast of Daniel Zeiter-Smiths' 'Parés au décollage?' readied themselves to leave it all on that stage following L'Essors production of 'Poof'. As they took to the vast Walkerville stage nerves were high and expectations even higher. Fortunately, the ensemble rallied together to give the performance of a lifetime which produced laughs, tears and brought spectators to the extremes of their emotions. "All along the journey, I could not help but feel ready and able because of all of the support we had gotten and continue to receive. Backstage, before the bow sequence, many of our tears would not cease to flow - an undeniable symbol of the passion and devotion we had all put into the production. As we all poured out onto the stage for that final moment, I am sure you could see the triumph on all of our faces. We did it." said Natalie Reid.

Was it enough?

Friday February 28th the participating schools from Windsor Essex met at Walkerville for the awards ceremony and the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. First the merit awards were announced, followed by acting awards. Here, Lajeunesse had its first victory with Florine Ndimubandis award for Best Supporting Actress. Daniel took home another two awards for Best Original Production and Writing and Directing. Following those, the original music used in 'Parés au décollage?' won an award for its superb quality.   The moment of truth soon after arrived, it was time to announce the 3 outstanding productions that would move on to the regional competition in Hamilton. Two spots were taken by the WCCA program at Walkerville and its production 'This is for You Anna" and by Leamington Secondary Schools  production of 'Oh, Brother!'. The third spot (but announced before both others) was taken by Lajeunesse!

For the second year in a row and the second time in school history La Troupe Royale will move on and compete at a higher and more intense level. It was a proud moment for all the actors, the technicians, stage

mangers, musicians, producer and of course the wonderful director. Tears of joy were shed in sheer awe and amazement over the outstanding accomplishment. It is an amazing thing when such a small school that not only has under 400 students but  that also speaks a different language can compete with art programs 2, 3, even 4 times its size! Lajeunesse's Director and Producer then received a one on one adjudication with specific details on how to improve 'Parés au décollage?' before entering the next round of competition to be held in the beginning of April. It is now do or die time for the actors as they prepare to change what needs to be changed in time!                                                                                                

I think I speak for all of us when I say a huge thank you to Kevin Noecker for his dedication and time, to John Nabben for his support and help with our production, to Renee Fox and Emily Kotsis-Wilder for their excellent stage and tech management and to Daniel for his care and effort. Without all these contributing dedicated leaders we would not have attained such success.

                                         (Renee Fox and Madison Gignac-me with the award for outstanding production)

More details of our progress on the way!
Bye!


Sources
https://publicboard.ca/schools/walkerville/Pages/default.aspx
https://publicboard.ca/schools/ldss/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.wccadrama.com/

Welcome to the dramatic world of La Troupe Royale!

L'École secondaire catholique EJ Lajeunesse is well known for our consistently successful sports teams but our victories also lie in the arts! Our drama program or 'Troupe Royale' is a strong, well organized and competitive organisation. Led by none other than our talented drama teacher Mr. Kevin Noecker (bio), Lajeunesse always manages to put on amazing productions. The last few years there have been a wide range of plays such as 'Huis Clos' an absurdist production, 'Into the Woods' a musical production, 'Apprendre a voler' a dramatic production and 'MDR' a comedic murder mystery production.

Each year, our cast competes in two festivals. The first being an all french showcase held in either Ottawa or Sudbury named Théâtre Action. Here, the actors have a chance to view other French Productions, participate in writing, directing and acting workshops and perform for an audience that appreciates all the hard work that goes into presenting a theatrical production. The second festival is a competitive program known as Sears Festival. Here, all willing schools in each district compete against each other for a spot among the top at the regional level and finally the provincial level.

Last year, La Troupe Royal had its first victory ever at Sears Fest with MDR, written and Directed by none other than Lajeunesse's own student Christine St.Pierre. It starred Madison Gignac, Jackson Rae, Natalie Reid and Daniel Zeiter-Smith as well as Kaitlyn Labute and Marc Lanteigne. The production won awards such as a merit award for ensemble acting, writing and directing, outstanding production and more.

This year Lajeunesse's production is a dramatic comedy written and directed by Daniel Zeiter Smith entitled 'Parés au décollage?'. The production began in October with its maiden presentation scheduled for February 25th at Walkerville Collegiate Institute. This will also be their Sears Fest competition performance. Many of the cast members that are returning are actors from last years award winning show MDR such as Madison Gignac, Marc Lanteigne, Natalie Reid, Christine St Pierre and Daniel Zeiter-Smith. This production also features actors making their Sears Fest/T.A debut: Tim Boismier, Dallas Heffernan, Tori McLinden, Florine Ndimubandi, Nicholas Rogers and Shannan Ryan.   La Troupe Royale also welcomes a first timer to our drama family this year; Michelle Barnett! We're all very excited to have her join us.

Many people don't understand that a cast is more than just a group of individuals who meet a few times a week, learn some lines and do shows. A cast is a family who live, eat and sleep together and who are always there to help and support one another. Cast members are silly around one another because we're all comfortable unquestionably with everyone else. A cast takes advantage of road trips to festivals and shows as opportunities to bond and become closer. All of this is showcased in the relationships a cast has on and off stage, in the tears after an amazing performance, the empty feeling after the last show they have together and lastly in the memories they all share. La Troupe Royal is a family and that is why it is so successful as an ensemble.

Brace yourselves for the roller coaster of performances soon to come!
Bye guys!


Sources
http://www.ejldrame.ofitall.com/
http://www.searsdramafestival.com/
http://www.theatreaction.ca/fr/
http://www.foreverfilms.ca/