Theme Park Thespian

Grammy Breakdown

2010-02-01T08:11:00.001-08:00

So, the biggest night in music occured last night... I'd like to give my personal take on the winners, performances, and all the insanity!!!

First of all, I have to comment on both the positive and negatives of the biggest advertised performance of the night: Michael Jackson's 3D Tribute.

I'd like to start by saying that I have a HUGE respect and love for the music of Michael Jackson, and always will appreciate and admire the path that he paved my generation and all of humanity.

Honestly, I was rather dissapointed overall! I thought the 3D elements were beautiful, and the song choice was fitting. However, I felt that the staging, some of the talents chosen and the stripped down elements were very understated with all the advertising that was done with the show.

When you think Michael Jackson, you think spectacle and one hell of a live show... I was hoping they were going to honor that live show element, dancers, his band reunited one last time (including his amazingly talented lead guitarist turned solo artist Orianthi), insanely technical choreography, and MAJOR MAJOR talent.

We were treated to the vocals of Usher, Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson singing Michael's haunting "Earth Song." Here is where I complain... I would have liked to see more electrifying vocalists on that stage, or even close friends of the late great musician. Don't get me wrong, I love each performer that they picked, but I would have preferred for this tribute, keeping Celine and Smokey, but pulled in some bigger names and living legends into this performance. I also concluded that this, not failure of a performance, but an overstated performance was... well... kind of dull. I will say though, that each vocalist was very powerful and well suited to the vocal demands of the song.

Moving on to other performances:
I'm starting to get a little bored with Pink's arial stuntwork. I've seen this several times already (one time live when she opened for Justin Timberlake). I'm ready for something new from her. Don't get me wrong, it clearly shows off her physical strength (the woman has a HOT BODY!) and being an arial artist requires a lot of physical strength. It's just time for you to show us something new.

On the other hand, Lady GaGa did NOT FAIL to put on one hell of a show! She has taken notes from the greats, inluding the great that joined her onstage for a wonderful mashup of Speechless and Your Song... Elton John! The pair sat down at facing conjoined grand pianos and playfully dueled their two songs into a killer mashup. This would be a song I would LOVE recorded in the studio and put onto iTunes for purchase... unfortunately, I don't think the recording studio could recapture the electricity that was on that stage when the two teamed up for what I can dub as the best performance of the night! Before accompanied by the flamboyant pianist, GaGa brought the house down with a snippet rendition of Poker Face that started with her lounge piano version, then amped up into the club version, complete with flashy costumes, riveting choreography, and a great theme/storyline!

I was excited to discover that Grammy princess Taylor Swift performed with Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Knicks... only to be THOROUGHLY dissapointed to hear Swift's less than pitch perfect vocals. I've never heard a vocalist go so flat before. I will say, however in the most sarcastic way possible, Thank God for Auto Tune! After hearing this performance, I was more than stunned when she was announced as Album of the Year winner! An award I would like to see being given to REAL musicians and artists... not ones that need their vocals tuned every other note.

On the other hand, Beyonce was a clear winner with her stellar performance of If I Were a Boy mashed up with *HUGE SURPRISE!* Alais Morissette's You Oughta Know! Beyonce is pitch perfect on record and pitch perfect in performance! Performing in a black leather-looking mini dress with some firece strappy/gladiator style stiletto heels with a Michael Jackson-esque brigade of military/SWAT dancers made my night. Her vocals... OMG... her vocals... were HOT, everything she sang had incredible intention and direction. It was literally flawless.

That's really all I have regarding major performances... oherwise this is going to turn into a novel...
In other news, I have been transferred within my job to attractions- effective February 14th!

PS- enjoy the performances with the write ups!

SeeMonkeeS Update, Biergarten, and More!

2010-01-28T06:18:00.000-08:00

In a shocking turn of events this week, things have been abnormally working out in my favor! I'm dating a man of Irish descent... I think some of that "Luck-o-the-Irish" is rubbing off onto my Polish self.

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First things first... remember that audition I told you about with Orlando's favorite improv troupe that likes to monkey around? Well, a couple of days later, I recieved a phone call from one of the members of TheSeeMonkeeS inviting me to attend their show at The Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar. Basically, i was told this was going to be my "orientation" to the group. That's right! Yours truly has been invited to workshop with the group on a trial period. Being such nice guys, they didn't throw me to the wolves immediately, I was told that they will not put me onstage until they think I'm ready... which is really cool of them! I'll keep you posted on all they "Monkee Business."

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My buddy, RapidsNerd, has been living at the In the Loop Timeshare here in Orlando, and we all took him to Disney (Epcot/Magic Kingdom)for his birthday.

Before sitting down to lunch, we had an opportunity to meet up with Snow White in the Germany pavillion. While waiting our turn to say hello and snap a couple pictures with the princess, we all couldn't help but notice how incredibly accurate this princess was. Everything from her voice, to her mannerisms. You could have sworn they pulled her from the screen... but wait! They did! Sometimes you meet a Disney princess and always notice maybe a thing or two missing... Snow White wasn't missing anything.

After a couple attractions, and a little bit of character whoring, we all sat down for a delicious lunch at the Biergarten in the Germany pavillion at Epcot. The band that played at the restaurant was fantastic. They all came out in traditional German costume, and entertained the crowd with German music. Everything from playing cowbells, to blowing what resembled a digereedo... I can't for the life of me remember the name of the instrument. What blew me away, was the tone quality of these instruments... there were no valves or buttons to change pitch, every note produced was strictly from the musicians diaphragm. The sound was just incredible. Here's a small clip from the entertainment at the restaurant:

Along our journeys, we ran into several of our favorite Disney friends, everyone from Mickey, to Princess Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, to Chip and Dale. Each character was so thrilled about the birthday and made sure to wish Nerd well!

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Before I go, I have to send a quick shout out to a wonderful group that I met last night at my improv orientation called Droll Academy(look them up on Facebook). These 2 gentleman had such an in your face, witty improv show, using the lives and interests of audience members as their script to work off of. I highly suggest you check them out... simply because they are hillarious.

Theatrically Yours,
Theme Park Thespian

Auditions, Valleyfair News, FOLK Footage

2010-01-23T09:04:00.001-08:00

Today was rather fun as I was awoken with an audition reminder! I had my first audition in a few months as I made my way to the headquarters of improv comedy troupe "The SeeMonkees" Now these guys are FUNNY.

First of all, please check out their WEBSITE or hunt these bad boys of comedy down on YouTube. I will not be held responsible for the gut you will bust laughing at these guys!

Now I have done some improv comedy in the past, but nothing like the comedy I did today. I recognized all the games, and had an absolute blast just playing improv games with these guys! There was something about an old lady with a bad memory and a grandson in a blue shirt... I don't remember...

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On to news, apparently ValleyFair will be replacing a show at the Galaxy theatre this summer for a new show... okay, for those not very educated in theme park shows: they usually have a new show every year... unless of course you're Disney in which SpectroMagic (or as cast members call it: SpectroTragic) has been playing since 1991...ish. At this time, there is no news regarding this except for the fact that auditions have been announced! Check the ValleyFair website for details if you are interested.

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Finally, here is some footage of one of my favorite shows at Disney- Festival of the Lion King playing multiple shows daily at Animal Kingdom

Friends Onstage!

2010-01-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

I discovered a random video of a couple friends from college doing a show at Cedar Point over the 2009 Halloweekends in the Red Garter Saloon:

Lindsay is in the black wig (girl on far left at top of video) and Jordan is also in a long black wig.

Enjoy!

Welcome!

2010-01-19T15:42:00.000-08:00

Hello reader! Welcome to "That Theme Park Thespian." In this blog, I'm going to be covering primarily entertainment within the amusement industry, focusing on shows, parades, costume and face characters and anything else that could fall into this category of theme park entertainment.

My qualifications? Of course. I hold a BFA in Musical Theatre, and work at a theme park. I have had plenty of stage experience, and love a good roller coaster as well.

I'm not going to strictly do reviews. I'm willing to look at new material that I can't go out and see for myself, post links to video and audio, and share some of my random excursions around the Orlando area- my stomping grounds.

I hope you enjoy poking around the page! Happy reading!

-Cassie

Theme Park Thespian