So, once the show got up and running I didn't really have the time to post on here very much. Now the show is finished! Be sure to check out our Reviews, and keep your eye out for photos and recordings. Once I have them finished I'll put them up here!

Also, a few of us have already begun chatting about some ideas for next summer's Fringe Festival. Once I get the Forum up and working the conversation might move there. Either way, I'll definitely be putting info on here once I have it!

Quick post: just wanted to point out that Joel Markowitz put up a preview that I wrote for Fallen Angels on DC Theater Arts! Check it out here:

Preview

There's some really great material up on that site - spend some time and get acquainted with Fringe with their Fringe Previews, and with other theater events in the DC Metro area!

We just had rehearsal #6, and I realized I never talked about rehearsal #5. They sort of go together, so I'll get them both in one chunk.

I like percentages. We've been blocking the shows. I worked out how much we had gotten done:

Lilith: 125 of 294 measures done: 43% done
Temptation: 236 of 362 measures done: 65% done
The Name on the Door: 48 of 294 measures done: 16% done

So, all together, we're about 43% done blocking the show. With four more staging rehearsals before we get to runs, I'd say we're in good shape.

The interesting thing about these two rehearsals (which will also be interesting for a few more) is that they've been in the living room in my house. It's a little cramped, but I don't have to pay for it. Bonus.

On Saturday we had our last big music rehearsal, back at Holy City. It was the first time we had the whole cast together for Lilith and The Name on the Door, and the first time several of the singers had worked with our pianist Bill.

I don't have a ton to say about the rehearsal. It went really well, and I am extremely excited to see the finished product!

Last night was rehearsal #3. Today I'm trying out the mobile app to see how well it works for updating the blog. Here goes...

I had trouble finding a venue, so last minute my good friend Shannon, who also happens to be the librettist for Temptation, offered her apartment and her piano. We're grateful that she could offer the space, but it was also great to have here there when the cast of Temptation, Nick the director, and I discussed the show.

The music rehearsal for Temptation was great. Each singer makes great strides with each rehearsal. They should be musically performance-ready in no time!

The discussion of the show afterwards was really interesting. Andrew, Ben, and Chess are discovering things about their characters that Nick and I hadn't thought of. The characters are becoming more like real people, and Nick is helping them develop their relationships with each other.

Then came rehearsal for Lilith. The singers here, too, are making great progress, but what was really interesting was the discussion afterwards.

Courtney, Joe, Nick, and I all had our own ideas of what's going on in Lilith. The funny thing is that all of these differing views still work together. Courtney finds Lilith more sympathetic, Joe sides more with Adam, and Nick and I are somewhere in between. This is good, though: it makes their dispute more real.

I'm looking forward to Saturday's music rehearsal for all three shows!

(Side note, added later - the mobile app doesn't like apostrophes. Back to only writing this online!)

We just had rehearsal #2 - our first time at St. Martin's. Great venue - we're looking forward to going back.

This was an interesting rehearsal for me especially: it was the first time I heard anything from Temptation sung or played live. I haven't really gotten a feel yet for what kinks can be worked out with pacing. Musically, this will definitely be the most work of the three operas for me. Only Andrew and Francesca could make it to this rehearsal, but we still made some great progress

We also had a The Name on the Door rehearsal with Annie and Zoe present. Everything sounds better each time I hear it! I'm really excited to hear this and the others when everything's put together.

Nick was also at the rehearsal today, and we had some time to talk with the two casts about what direction we were feeling everything was going - finding out about their characters, too. I'm looking forward to see where Nick and the singers take everything.

-Michael

Tonight was our first music rehearsal for Fallen Angels. 

... I was half an hour late due to traffic and parking, and one of the singers actually never made it there for the same reasons.

Despite all that, we had a really nice rehearsal. Our amazing pianist, Bill, and I rehearsed The Name on the Door with Annie Gill and Bennett Umhau, and then we went through a good chunk of Lilith with Courtney Kalbacker.

It was tough finding a rehearsal space - it was getting down to last minute and I hadn't been able to find space, but the lovely people at Holy City Church in DC let us use their space for a few hours - even though they were getting set up for services the next day during the last part of the rehearsal. 

In other exciting news, our postcards came in!

Everything came together: Mark Noel's great promotional photos, Mike Lewis' cool logo, Christy Myers' photoshop skills, and RaeAnn Roca's amazing ability to get things done that I need her to with little or no input from me. Now I have 5,000 of these guys. Anybody want one or a couple hundred?

You'd think that, since rehearsals have begun, that that must mean everything's under control. Not by a long shot - another singer dropped out today, I still don't have a stage manager, a for sure venue for the rest of our rehearsals, or a few people for our pit. 

Deep breaths. It'll happen.

Just a quick post to show off the new images: both for the company and for this show. First, the Silver Finch logo by the amazing Mike Lewis:

Awesome, right? 

Now, the final draft of the promotional image for Fallen Angels, by Mark Noel:

Awesome things are happening here, folks.

This is my first post about our production of Fallen Angels in the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival, and we've already gotten a lot of work done!

So far, we've:
-Set up auditions (May 12 from noon to 4:00pm - spots are still available if you're interested!)
-Had a photo shoot for the promotional images - a "rough draft" copy is in the header of the page
-Started other PR/Marketing measures - with the help of the fabulous RaeAnn Roca

That doesn't seem like much, but it's actually taken a lot of time! I especially encourage you to check out our new Twitter: @SilverFinchArts, our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SilverFinchArtsCollective , and feel free to email us at silverfincharts@gmail.com

I myself, as composer and music director, still have a ton of work to do - scores to finish, parts to make, instrumentalists to hire. It'll all be worth it, though!

There's much more to come soon!

Michael