It's practically October around here - and things feel like it. We are about as busy as we ever get. Today was a good day though; after two days rest I managed to clear several of the piles from my desk and catch up on a little correspondence. The 39 Steps and The Atheist (now in it's final week) are currently enjoying tremendously successful runs. Brendan is settling into a very productive rehearsal with reports that over half the play was blocked in the first week. The set for Streamers is sitting backstage awaiting some final coats of paint, and in a few weeks we will begin to go to town on Third. We're looking well beyond January too...
We have had tens of thousands of new visitors on our websites (www.huntingtontheatre.org, www.bostontheatrescene.com, blog.huntingtontheatre.org) in the last few weeks. If you are one of those folks popping back in for a second visit I recommend you explore a little deeper and find out what it is that makes the Huntington a special place (I like to think so anyway).
Here on the blog all of the navigation is on the right hand side tool bar: I've got shows currently in production up top, and each of these links will take you to content specific to each show. These are followed by some insider tips, more Huntington links, a search function (need to find something or someone in particular?), blog archives, a selection of recent theatre news and reviews that I have collected for you, followed by Huntington contact info.
More than anything, I would love to hear from YOU. You can comment about nearly anything you like by clicking on the "Join the Conversation" link following each post.
On huntingtontheatre.org your gonna find tons of info about each show, and even more about the Huntington and our programs. We've got a new webmaster and the site is looking better every day with lots of updates and more content than ever before. We are also working on making it easier and faster for you to buy tickets online. How does "select your own seat" sound?? It sounds really great to me... no more taking chances on a seating location, you get to pick the seats you want! That's coming sometime this fall if all goes well.
Over on BTS you will find EVERYTHING that is going on with our partner companies, including Boston University and the Resident Theatre Companies at the Boston Center for the Arts. There is just no excuse for sitting at home in front of the DVR when there is such a variety of exciting theatre right at your finger tips.
Click it and take a scroll with us... and then tell us about what you found!
Showing posts with label Welcome to our Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Welcome to our Blog. Show all posts
September 24, 2007
April 22, 2007
Tell me about it
I happened to glance at our blog's sidebar today and noticed something kinda scary; this is post number One Hundred and One.
I don't think we can call the Huntington blog "new" any more.
One fateful September day I walked into Temple Gill's office and innocently volunteered to contribute some content. How hard could it be to do a little writing about what's going on around here? I figured once I started others would join in...
I cautiously typed out my first entry after a few test posts with Temple's help and we were off and running. We've had over 40 comments, and hardly a day goes by without someone calling or sending me an email with a tidbit of info to share with you. Thank you for all of your encouragement and your contributions.
It's been amazing to watch our daily readership grow from just a handful in the first weeks, climb from 15 to 40 a day during the run of The Cherry Orchard, to now over 500 visits a week this month.
Temple and her gang had come up with the catch phrase of "Join the conversation" and it really seems to fit well in this format, and indeed what makes it work.
So - I'm going to ask a favor of you.
Why? Over the next week or so I won't be in the office (or at home even) to contribute much in the way of new content. We've got the first rehearsal for Present Laughter on Tuesday and then I'm off to London on Wednesday evening to see the West End production of The 39 Steps, which we'll be bringing to you as our season opener next fall. I'm getting a backstage tour, seeing the show a few times, and meeting with director Maria Aitken and set/costume designer Peter McKintosh to discuss our production. We'll build a new set with new props and costumes for Boston and then send the whole thing on to Broadway. I'll return on Sunday, to then head off to our annual gala fundraiser Spotlight Spectacular on Monday.
The Favor? Easy - join the conversation.
Please Blog back at me... I'd love to see you post your musings in the form of comments on the many topics we have discussed in the last seven months. Take a look around the blog, the links in the sidebar will help you find your way, and hit the "join the conversation" link that appears in the footer of each post to tell us whatever comes to mind.
I'll do my best to respond, point you to the new comments, and keep the conversations rolling.
And maybe I'll send you a digital postcard or two from "across the pond". Cheerio!
I don't think we can call the Huntington blog "new" any more.
One fateful September day I walked into Temple Gill's office and innocently volunteered to contribute some content. How hard could it be to do a little writing about what's going on around here? I figured once I started others would join in...
I cautiously typed out my first entry after a few test posts with Temple's help and we were off and running. We've had over 40 comments, and hardly a day goes by without someone calling or sending me an email with a tidbit of info to share with you. Thank you for all of your encouragement and your contributions.
It's been amazing to watch our daily readership grow from just a handful in the first weeks, climb from 15 to 40 a day during the run of The Cherry Orchard, to now over 500 visits a week this month.
Temple and her gang had come up with the catch phrase of "Join the conversation" and it really seems to fit well in this format, and indeed what makes it work.
So - I'm going to ask a favor of you.
Why? Over the next week or so I won't be in the office (or at home even) to contribute much in the way of new content. We've got the first rehearsal for Present Laughter on Tuesday and then I'm off to London on Wednesday evening to see the West End production of The 39 Steps, which we'll be bringing to you as our season opener next fall. I'm getting a backstage tour, seeing the show a few times, and meeting with director Maria Aitken and set/costume designer Peter McKintosh to discuss our production. We'll build a new set with new props and costumes for Boston and then send the whole thing on to Broadway. I'll return on Sunday, to then head off to our annual gala fundraiser Spotlight Spectacular on Monday.
The Favor? Easy - join the conversation.
Please Blog back at me... I'd love to see you post your musings in the form of comments on the many topics we have discussed in the last seven months. Take a look around the blog, the links in the sidebar will help you find your way, and hit the "join the conversation" link that appears in the footer of each post to tell us whatever comes to mind.
I'll do my best to respond, point you to the new comments, and keep the conversations rolling.
And maybe I'll send you a digital postcard or two from "across the pond". Cheerio!
January 11, 2007
Tell us Your Story
We sent the following message to our subscibers last week:
TELL US YOUR STORIES We're collecting from our subscribers their stories and remembrances about 25 years of the Huntington. Have a special memory of a production or a performance? Tell us about it. Just email your story to thehuntington@huntingtontheatre.org and we'll send you a coupon good for one concessions treat the next time you're in the theatre. Thank you!
The stories have started to roll in. I wanted to share this one with you from subscriber Lynn Thornton:
My friend June and I have to be among the longest longtime-subscribers. I believe that the very first season of the Huntington (Sept. 1982 or was it 1981?) it was not called the Huntington. Wasn't it The Hartman Theater first, then they changed the name for the second season? At any rate, my friend June and I began attending when we were living in Boston and I was about to be married. We have attended every season from the beginning. We are agreed that Arcadia is our hands down favorite production but Sonia Flew and the Rabbit Hole are in strong contention. 
I have seldom been so moved by a production as I was by Rabbit Hole--I cried every time I discussed it with anyone. Another memorable performance was Terra Nova which we remember because its theme of futility and bleakness, enhanced by the real chill produced by the higher-than-usual air conditioning, mirrored June's feelings on being recently divorced. Since that unhappy play, we have thrilled to many wonderful productions and our lives have continued apace as we created our families and moved through different stages in our lives (get it?). The Huntington has woven a rich tapestry of theater experiences into our minds and souls over this quarter century. In this age of technology-enhanced entertainment and blockbuster-sappy Broadway, what a joy it is to see live and intimate theater so beautifully produced. Keep up the good work.--Sincerely, Lynn Thornton
Thanks Lynn! Terra Nova was back in 1985 (missed that one, I was still in college), Arcadia was in 1996 (and one of my favorite Tom Stoppard plays... who knew chaos theory could be so much fun), Sonia Flew was our inaugural production on our brand new second stage, the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, a few years ago in 2004. Rabbit Hole was just a few months back.
Please tell us your story. Again, the email address is thehuntington@huntingtontheatre.org
Photos:
Zabryna Guevara as Pilar and Will LeBow as Orfeo in the Huntington Theatre Company's world premiere production of Sonia Flew by Melinda Lopez, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA(2004). Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
Izzy (Geneva Carr, l.), Becca (Donna Bullock, c.) and Nat (Maureen Anderman) cut Izzy's birthday cake in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, at the Boston University Theatre (2006). Photo: Eric Antoniou.
TELL US YOUR STORIES We're collecting from our subscribers their stories and remembrances about 25 years of the Huntington. Have a special memory of a production or a performance? Tell us about it. Just email your story to thehuntington@huntingtontheatre.org and we'll send you a coupon good for one concessions treat the next time you're in the theatre. Thank you!
The stories have started to roll in. I wanted to share this one with you from subscriber Lynn Thornton:
My friend June and I have to be among the longest longtime-subscribers. I believe that the very first season of the Huntington (Sept. 1982 or was it 1981?) it was not called the Huntington. Wasn't it The Hartman Theater first, then they changed the name for the second season? At any rate, my friend June and I began attending when we were living in Boston and I was about to be married. We have attended every season from the beginning. We are agreed that Arcadia is our hands down favorite production but Sonia Flew and the Rabbit Hole are in strong contention. 
I have seldom been so moved by a production as I was by Rabbit Hole--I cried every time I discussed it with anyone. Another memorable performance was Terra Nova which we remember because its theme of futility and bleakness, enhanced by the real chill produced by the higher-than-usual air conditioning, mirrored June's feelings on being recently divorced. Since that unhappy play, we have thrilled to many wonderful productions and our lives have continued apace as we created our families and moved through different stages in our lives (get it?). The Huntington has woven a rich tapestry of theater experiences into our minds and souls over this quarter century. In this age of technology-enhanced entertainment and blockbuster-sappy Broadway, what a joy it is to see live and intimate theater so beautifully produced. Keep up the good work.--Sincerely, Lynn ThorntonThanks Lynn! Terra Nova was back in 1985 (missed that one, I was still in college), Arcadia was in 1996 (and one of my favorite Tom Stoppard plays... who knew chaos theory could be so much fun), Sonia Flew was our inaugural production on our brand new second stage, the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, a few years ago in 2004. Rabbit Hole was just a few months back.
Please tell us your story. Again, the email address is thehuntington@huntingtontheatre.org
Photos:
Zabryna Guevara as Pilar and Will LeBow as Orfeo in the Huntington Theatre Company's world premiere production of Sonia Flew by Melinda Lopez, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA(2004). Photo: T. Charles Erickson.
Izzy (Geneva Carr, l.), Becca (Donna Bullock, c.) and Nat (Maureen Anderman) cut Izzy's birthday cake in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, at the Boston University Theatre (2006). Photo: Eric Antoniou.
December 14, 2006
Blog It
Here's a short ramble as I attempt to clear my brain of the jumble of numbers currently clouding it as a result of this morning's mind numbing work on preliminary budgets for our next season:
It's looking like the reporting of arts news, critism and commentary has made a major shift from the print media to the internet. Newpapers are reducing arts coverage and laying off their staff. We're now seeing a lot of the folks who used to (and some who still do) write for the papers now blogging their work. And the arts consumer is out here too, freely giving opinions on the state of whatever strikes their fancy. Heck, the only reason I open a paper these days is to see where a feature is placed and what pictures they have.
It's a big reason we're out here too, trying to keep our connections with the folks who used to read (and write for) the paper. And frankly we've got better things to spend the money for a full page ad on, like maybe a year's salary or two.
I'm liking this blogging thing, I have to say, and part of the fun of it for me is the informality of it. In a blog you get to see more of someone's personality than an editor might allow in print. You can discover what out there is interesting to like minded people who's work isn't being supported by ad sales. And that review or feature in the paper that didn't quite make sense in it's 350 word version is expounded upon and debated, even critized. And then there's just plain opinion. Plenty of it. Fun!
It might(or might not) suprise you that I don't work in the Marketing department. In the Huntington org chart Temple Gill, our Director of Marketing, is my peer. I've been given free reign (so far) to write about whatever I like. They even don't proof or edit. Explains a lot, eh?
I do like it when people actually come to the theatres and see our work, however, so you'll definitely see me plugging the shows, feature our promotions, and be slightly editorial in the selection of reviews that I point you to.
I'd love to see this blog evolve into something a little more interactive so feel free to respond to a post or write in something completely random about a Huntington experience you've had.
We're still working on getting some other poor sucker to volunteer to give you a peek into some of the other stuff that goes on around the Huntington besides the stagecraft.
Anyway.... the point of all this was to send you off on your own to explore a few more of the blogs and links that I've discovered over the last few weeks of exploration in the weird wild world of internet commentary.
The Exhibitionist Geoff Edgers blogs for the boston.com. He actually gets paid for it, and he covers a lot of ground too. Still at the top of my list just cause he's the only one that's mentioned us. And he links to tons of other blogs.
HubArts.com Joel Brown has been busy getting paid to work lately, but when he actually blogs...
Maverick Arts Magazine by Charles Giuliano; a Boston-based artist, curator and critic.
The Hub Review Thomas Garvey talks about "everything that matters in Boston culture".
The Mirror up to Nature (a quote familiar to those who frequent the BU Theatre, btw) "On Theatre and Being an Artist in Boston". I can't find this blogger's name, but I hear he's a playwright.
Many of these sites have even more links to other interesting places. Have a favorite blog or Arts related site? Send it my way.
I'll get that second post about the Cherry Orchard Drops out by the weekend, and hope to have something special for you on Monday. Meanwhile... artistic just emailed with two more titles for me to budget for Tuesday. Back to work. Thanks Chris. Really.
It's looking like the reporting of arts news, critism and commentary has made a major shift from the print media to the internet. Newpapers are reducing arts coverage and laying off their staff. We're now seeing a lot of the folks who used to (and some who still do) write for the papers now blogging their work. And the arts consumer is out here too, freely giving opinions on the state of whatever strikes their fancy. Heck, the only reason I open a paper these days is to see where a feature is placed and what pictures they have.
It's a big reason we're out here too, trying to keep our connections with the folks who used to read (and write for) the paper. And frankly we've got better things to spend the money for a full page ad on, like maybe a year's salary or two.
I'm liking this blogging thing, I have to say, and part of the fun of it for me is the informality of it. In a blog you get to see more of someone's personality than an editor might allow in print. You can discover what out there is interesting to like minded people who's work isn't being supported by ad sales. And that review or feature in the paper that didn't quite make sense in it's 350 word version is expounded upon and debated, even critized. And then there's just plain opinion. Plenty of it. Fun!
It might(or might not) suprise you that I don't work in the Marketing department. In the Huntington org chart Temple Gill, our Director of Marketing, is my peer. I've been given free reign (so far) to write about whatever I like. They even don't proof or edit. Explains a lot, eh?
I do like it when people actually come to the theatres and see our work, however, so you'll definitely see me plugging the shows, feature our promotions, and be slightly editorial in the selection of reviews that I point you to.
I'd love to see this blog evolve into something a little more interactive so feel free to respond to a post or write in something completely random about a Huntington experience you've had.
We're still working on getting some other poor sucker to volunteer to give you a peek into some of the other stuff that goes on around the Huntington besides the stagecraft.
Anyway.... the point of all this was to send you off on your own to explore a few more of the blogs and links that I've discovered over the last few weeks of exploration in the weird wild world of internet commentary.
The Exhibitionist Geoff Edgers blogs for the boston.com. He actually gets paid for it, and he covers a lot of ground too. Still at the top of my list just cause he's the only one that's mentioned us. And he links to tons of other blogs.
HubArts.com Joel Brown has been busy getting paid to work lately, but when he actually blogs...
Maverick Arts Magazine by Charles Giuliano; a Boston-based artist, curator and critic.
The Hub Review Thomas Garvey talks about "everything that matters in Boston culture".
The Mirror up to Nature (a quote familiar to those who frequent the BU Theatre, btw) "On Theatre and Being an Artist in Boston". I can't find this blogger's name, but I hear he's a playwright.
Many of these sites have even more links to other interesting places. Have a favorite blog or Arts related site? Send it my way.
I'll get that second post about the Cherry Orchard Drops out by the weekend, and hope to have something special for you on Monday. Meanwhile... artistic just emailed with two more titles for me to budget for Tuesday. Back to work. Thanks Chris. Really.
October 10, 2006
Sneak Peek!
So here's the first sneak peek... a preliminary model photo of ACT II of The Cherry Orchard with scenery designed by Ralph Funicello.
Mauritius is beginning to settle into a nice run, with preview performances and rehearsals this week, with ongoing work on the show by director Rebecca Taichman and playwright Theresa Rebeck. This work paid off on Sunday Night with our first standing ovation. We struggled to find the right feel and look for the living room making many changes in the set dressing. Thanks to everyone who kept on going until we found the right look.
Oh yeah, Radio Golf closes on Sunday, and rehearsals for Rabbit Hole begin today.
Again, welcome to the Huntington's blog. I'm new at this... And trying to figure out what you're interested in hearing about what goes on behind the scenes at the Huntington. A little bit about me.... As production manager I oversee all of the individual production departments including Scenery, Paints, Properties, Costumes, Lighting, Sound and Stage Management. We have over 30 full time and seasonal production staff, and we can add another 30 -40 part time technicians and artisans on any particular production. I also work with our other departments (artistic, general management, finance, development, marketing, education, and the BU Theatre program) to plan and coordinate budgets, seasons, design teams, and operational issues. I'm celebrating my 15th season with the Huntington this year.
Have a question for me? Shoot me an email at twilliams@huntingtontheatre.bu.edu or post a comment on the blog. I'll see what kind of response I get and post something again by week's end.
(Photo above: The Cherry Orchard set design by Ralph Funicello.)
October 3, 2006
Welcome to our blog!
Welcome to the Huntington's new blog, where we'll share behind-the-scenes stories and backstage goings on with you. You'll hear from Huntington staff as well as actors in our shows and other visiting artists, and we hope we'll hear from you, too, when you'd like to make a comment.
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