MEET THE CAST: Jackie Lamptey

So...it's time to meet....THE CAST! Up close and personal! For the next 6 entries, I will be introducing you to each of the people going on the FALL tour...and telling you all a little bit about them - from what I have gathered in the first 2 1/2 weeks we've been together! And for the fans of Gillian out there - NEVER FEAR - when she meets up with us in January, she will have her OWN 'MEET THE CAST' spotlight. Phew.

AND NOW....it is with real pleasure that I introduce you to the first member of our cast - JACKIE LAMPTEY! Jackie plays Violet Beauregard in the show, and it is my honor and privilege to play her mother (the puppet). We have a REAL chemistry in that scene that I think other members of the cast only DREAM of! I mean - Mrs. Beauregard has ONE line...but she delivers it with such FERVOR, you think she is Lady MacBeth! And then, JACKIE takes her cue and runs...and chomps...and chews...and BLOWS everyone away! (Bad gum puns intended.)
She also voices/maneuvers Grandma Georgina and Grandpa George...SOMETIMES at the same time. And then, her love of the show, she also plays a pesky Oompa Loompa!

Outside the show, Jackie is a lover of music from the 1980's! And she was nice enough to act excited when I told her that I downloaded 'We're Not Gonna Take It' as her ringtone on my phone...even after she wrinkled her nose and said, 'I don't really like the metal bands.' BUT - she was still excited about her RING!

And if there is credit to be paid to anyone in the cast for helping bring us all together in the shortest amount of time, it has to be Jackie...and her introduction of the "WAH! wah!" sound effect to our rehearsals. (It tickles me so much, I laughed even when I just typed it! HAHA!)
It's more of a locational thing (you have to be there to understand the use) - but trust me in saying we all do it now, and it's all thanks to Jackie!

Jackie is thoughtful, patient and DAMN funny! Jackie went to school somewhere in Richmond (I HAVE been gathering details...but sometimes, not specifics) - she loves Napoleon Dynamite and Chipotle - she misses her long lunches in Georgetown - and she can sprint from the Foggy Bottom Metro to the Kennedy Center Theatre Lab in 8 minutes flat. She has a hearing problem - but only in the sense that she chooses NOT to hear me when she is walking away from me out in the halls of the Kennedy Center while I am SHOUTING her name. I like to think of it as a fun little game that we play!

So without any further ado, please welcome the coiner of the phrase, 'That's just how I am. I'm a professional.' - JACKIE!

Please Welcome....THE PUPPETS!!!

So - I wanted to include some pictures of the puppets that we use in the show. For those of you who don't know how the show is done and find yourselves surprised (or slightly freaked out) at the mention of puppets, just know that the show has a combo of real people and puppets to tell the story. All the KIDS (Veruca, Violet, Mike, Augustus and Charlie) are real people - and Willy Wonka is a real person. OH - and Charlie's parents are real people. Everyone else is a puppet.
WELL.....there is one other stand out LIVE character, as well, that is only on for a brief second. His name is JAMES - and he loves suckers. He's just a town boy who meets Charlie on the street and talks about candy with him for a moment. It's a gripping scene - and has a real depth to it. But that's the last we see of James. And COINCIDENTALLY, I also play James.

Anyway - ENOUGH! The puppets consist of the following:
-Grandparents (from the waist up - all in one bed...4 Grandparents)
-Spoiled Kids Parents (for the 4 Golden Ticket Winners)
-Oompa Loompas (they are stool-puppets. our legs become their legs and we run the upper bodies. They are a REAL work out...but I actually really enjoy them!)
-Squirrels (in the nut room...DEFINITELY never thought I'd be running a squirrel puppet. I'm such a versatile artisan. HA!)

Like I said on my first entry, the puppets are fun but VERY difficult. Some of them may look a little creepy - and even in person - until you get working with them and see them take on characters of their own. It's actually pretty amazing. It's also actually pretty frustrating - because you have to remember to not hyper-extend their elbows - or make sure they are making eye contact when they are talking - or that you're not just flailing their arms out of control when they are talking - or make sure the PUPPETS head is moving and not the actors (GUILTY! I'm a definite head-mover...sorry Graham!) Anyway - there is a lot to take into consideration when you are puppeteering...but they have been very fun thus far! And I've even gotten some artistic liscence to make the Squirrels KOREAN SPEAKING. Hopefully, we're not performing in Koreatown in Sioux Falls or Fayetteville...because they will hear some Korean cussing, if they listen close!

Enjoy the pictures...and feel free to comment or reply as you follow along on our little journey!
OH! And everyone say GOOD BYE to Ingrid, our AWESOME choreographer! Today was her last day with us...and it was sad. But we PROMISE to get everything down just right for her!
Thanks for everything Ingrid!

Until next time....
Gussy

picture key: TOP - Grandparents (Gillian and Tara in back); BOTTOM: Squirrel (w/Tara); Spoiled Kids Parents (with Eric); More Squirrels (l-r: Chris, Jen, Gillian and Tara); Oompa Loompa's (Jackie and Ingrid)

Our 3rd Monday

So today was our 3rd Monday in rehearsals...very, VERY hard to believe that only 2 weeks ago most of us didn't know each other and we just started rehearsing this show. Today, we ran the show 2 times through - and spent some time cleaning up a lot of important things. PLUS - on our second run today, we put the Orchestra track with the sound effects and incidental music with the show - which added a new element and a new excitement. I mean - you can sit there and IMAGINE what Charlie's burps might sound like, or what sound Blueberry Violet might make when she explodes. But you get a whole new dimension to the show when you HEAR the pre-recorded bleches and bubble explosion. It's all a part of a little thing I like to call 'music theatre magic'.

Also - for those of you familiar with the movies and/or book, you will know that Augustus finds his end with a chocolate river. Well, since this is the "Dollar Fifty Production" of Willy Wonka (as our esteemed director, Graham, likes to point out) instead of Tim Burton's multi-million dollar version, the river has been scrapped for a vat...and YOURS TRULY gets to tuck and roll into the vat every show. And I want to take this time to tell you all - I HATE IT MORE THAN ANYTHING. There. I said. It's small - I had a panic attack the first time I went into it - and although, in the end, I am only in there for about 2 minutes TOPS, it does feel like atleast 4 hours has passed before they wheel me off stage and dump me out. SO - I am going to attach a picture of the VAT - with my gams sticking out. The time between the first picture and the second picture is about...oh...7.3 seconds. So I go from standing beside it to rolled up inside it. WHO is the luckiest boy in the cast? If you could see me typing, you'd see my hand raised! It's ME!

And stay tuned - our next big picture entry should be THE PUPPETS OF WILLY WONKA: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!

Until then - good night!
Gussy



Gussy checks out the chocolate. Gussy is STUCK in the chocolate.
(Thanks to Jen, Jackie and Tara for saving my LIFE everytime I go in!)

More Rehearsal Fun....

Sometimes, the long days get to us. It's one of those days for Tara and I. If you ask us, this show needs more circles. CIAO!

p.s. notice the grandparents in bed behind us...watching us have all the fun. Silly Puppets!

Rehearsal Fun...

Gillian and I have taken to picture-texting each other...just because sometimes we take funny pictures with our phones and want to share...and sometimes we're bored...and sometimes we don't feel like we have to explain to YOU why we're taking them. Like right now. :)

Anway, watch for future mobile posts of crazy PHONE PICTURES from the road! This is a picture Chris and Gillian sent me (holding Chris' wig from the show) from backstage at the show they are performing in now. (Grease at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland. Show runs until Sept. 4 - and then we leave on the 6th. Wow is all I can say about living THAT schedule....)

The Wonka Schedule

IMPORTANT UPDATE

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL...THE SCHEDULE FOR WILLY WONKA IS NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS SITE ANY LONGER.

IF YOU WOULD STILL LIKE TO SEE THE SCHEDULE, OR DISCUSS WITH ME THE DATES WE MAY (OR MAY NOT) BE NEAR YOU, SIMPLY POST A REPLY HERE -COMPLETE WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, AND I WILL SEND YOU THE DATES THAT WE MAY (OR MAY NOT) BE NEAR YOU.

WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION THAT THIS MAY CAUSE...AND HOPE THAT YOU REALIZE THAT WE HERE AT GOGLOOP.BLOGSPOT.COM ARE JUST LOOKING OUT FOR OUR SAFETY IN THE PLACES WE MAY (OR MAY NOT) BE.

THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!

gussy

P.S. THANKS TO 'WHITE DOVE' FOR BLOWING THE COVER FOR EVERYONE!!!

The Cast

Wanted to add a quick picture of the whole cast....so you could see everyone!
Back row (L-R): Andrew (Willy Wonka), Eric (Charlie), Jackie (Violet), Gillian (Spring Veruca), ME, Elisa (our fearless Stage Manager).
Front row (L-R): Jen (Mrs. Bucket), Tara (Fall Veruca), Chris (Mike)
ENJOY!!

And please be aware...this darn new camera of mine ADDS 20 lbs. per person. it's sad.

So it begins....

well, here is where it all starts. it's 1:35am on sunday, august 28th, and i am starting the BLOG that will follow me through the next 9 months. as you all know, i am leaving town to go on tour with the kennedy center's production of WILLY WONKA - THE MUSICAL! and i am playing augustus gloop...and a bunch of other small parts (that are played by puppets.)
anyway - i am sitting here getting ready to go to bed, and i decided i need to start this now or NEVER. we are 2 weeks into rehearsal, and we start our 3rd week at 9am this morning...and leave town a week from tuesday (sept 6).
so far, the process has been VERY fun and VERY demanding. the show is only one hour - but all 7 of us in the cast do SO much in that hour. i do the augustus stuff, plus run 4 puppets along the way, too. and i'm confident in saying that the puppets are the toughest part of the whole thing! but they are really fun, too. so it's good.
the cast is great! i feel like we are really lucky, for the most part. we are all covering the whole tour except for the role of veruca - and we have both spring and fall veruca's in rehearsal with us. (actually - i lied in that last part...we may be getting a new mike teevee half way through the tour...but i can't talk about it rignt now because it makes me mad and sad....) but overall, it's good stuff. the cast is: me, eric thompson (charlie), andrew frace (wonka), jackie lamptey (violet), chris sizemore (mike), jen morris (mrs. bucket), and then gillian shelly and tara giordano split veruca.
there is a lot to do to really get ready for this tour...both with the show and with my personal life! and everything is moving right along. i'm excited to head out - and see what is out there...but i'm a little overwhelmed with it all. but ultimately, i think it's going to be a KICK!
and if our cast laughs as much as we have the past 2 weeks, i think we're going to do just fine!
the first lesson i learned: the word chew in the script is intended for the CHEWING sound. Don't sing it outloud. Especially 4 times. CHEW! CHEW! CHEW! CHEW!

catch you next time...
Gussy