Saturday, March 27, 2010

Collaboration, Steampunk Style

We're at that exciting point in the rehearsal process when set and costumes and character discovery begin to come together and we all breathe a collective sigh and say "Yes, this is what it's about!"

Liz Carlson, our dynamic director, was caught here, in the act of breathing that great theatrical sigh of happiness during this afternoon's rehearsal.



One of the wonderful things about this particular set is that it hangs, suspended, in one of the most beautiful architectural sites of West Philadelphia -- our backdrop is Curio's massive pipe organ, which suddenly looks like the essence of all that is Steampunk . Why, it could belch smoke at any moment!



And boxes of costume donations continue to come in from wonderful sources, like Jared Axelrod, who is the very face of Steampunk, and the wonderful Donna Ricci of Clockwork Couture.

Collaborating with so many creative minds and talents has been an exciting experience, and has helped this production blossom into something quite wonderful and unique.

- Jennifer Summerfield -

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Steampunk Shakespeare


On Monday evening, March 15, The Gold Standard Cafe hosted a gallery opening of photographs taken by Kyle Cassidy, documenting Curio's six year history. Please stop by the restaurant, located on the Southwest corner of 48th Street and Baltimore Ave, through May 15th, to wander through the past five seasons at Curio and even catch a glimpse of the next production, Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."

On display in the dining room of the Gold Standard, next to Cassidy's photographs, are watercolor renderings of Aetna Gallagher's Steampunk costume designs for "Twelfth Night."

Between Gallagher's costumes and Paul Kuhn's multi-tiered set, "Twelfth Night" promises to be the most visually stunning of any Curio production yet!

Adding to the beauty and flavor of the production, celebrated Steampunk designers, Kambriel and Donna Ricci, will be lending some of their beautifully crafted items to Curio, giving just the right touch of Neo-Victorian flair.

I can't wait to see and wear the results!

-Jennifer Summerfield-

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Transitioning to Twelfth Night

On Saturday night, we wrapped up our sold out run of Sartre's "No Exit" with a strike party, clearing the stage for designer Paul Kuhn's ambitious, multi-level set of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", which will be officially opening on April 23 (the Bard's 446th birthday!) Proving that many hands make light the work, we were joined by friends from the community and those who had only recently been audience members, and work was completed in an hour and a half. It was wonderful having so many willing volunteers, and the evening was full of laughter and the forging of new friendships.



For "Twelfth Night," we're going to remain true to the sense of intimacy we began earlier in the season with "The Weir" and "No Exit'; however, because of our new seating arrangement (which involved carefully moving eight of the pews from the sanctuary to the stage), we'll be able to increase the number of tickets available for each performance!

We finished the night with a delicious ziti dinner prepared by managing director, Gay Carducci. It was a perfect way to celebrate the completion of a successful run and launch a brand new production.



Here I am with Paul and fellow actors C.J. Keller and Ken Opdenaker, sharing stories and thoughts about the future season.

And that future is looking bright!

-Jennifer Summerfield-