Carol Rice

Teresa, thanks for the kudos! It's definitely a wild ride to do (I've done all 13 as a director, writer, or actors, not to mention all the behind the scenes stuff I do for it).

What's NOT in your review is that everyone is participating has signed up on a first-come, first-served basis, so unlike most festivals of this kind, we had no idea who our writer-director-actor "team" was beforehand! Just adds to the craziness and FUN!

Can't wait to check out this space and the plays! Kudos to Teco for providing this contest!

On that note, I wonder if they'll be making a musical out of one of the author's other books, "Duck For President." ALL of those books are freakin' BRILLIANT, and I have a feeling I'll keep them around even after my boys are way too old to enjoy them...because I still will! :)

I don't see why they think raising the paper's price is going to help if they don't raise the quality....

I saw Danny's Zero when it was in Plano at the Cox Building Playhouse, and he is truly a gifted man. I'll send something to my peeps and try to help get him an audience!

I LOVE the idea that rescue dogs available for adoption are being used in this show! Way to go, Casa!

"Lastly, to the person who said they believe in both creationism and evolution and they both can co-exist. The only way they can co-exist is if you believe that the earth is 6000 years old, which is the core behind creationism."

You have no idea what I believe as a creationist, so please don't make such accusations. I believe in having an open mind on most issues and was enjoying this thread for awhile, but most of you folks don't really have anything to SAY. You just enjoy pontificating. That dead horse thing comes to mind here....

Pragmatic, eh? That's yet another hip and trendy word being kicked around these days to make one seem "cool." I think I'll stick with God, thanks.

I believe in creationism and I believe in evolution. The two can and DO coexist. Why is it so cool these days to disbelieve anything related to God? No, you don't want every wacked out theory being taught in our schools, but why is it that ANYTHING that mentions the Christian religion these days is automatically thrown out because it "might offend someone"? I'm offended that my beliefs aren't being taken into consideration by their ommission and everyone else's inclusion.

I'm not saying the information going to into these textbooks is right or wrong, and you folks have really discussed some interesting stuff. It's too bad none of those decision makers are on this forum. At least, I'm willing to bet they're not.

Maybe Jason's omission of Lon's name in the review was just a reflection of the playwright's missing bio in the play's program. One would think with all the other people TDM thanked, coupled with nearly two pages of rambling from the company's artistic director, that they'd have room for a bio from the LOCAL playwright whose work they were debuting. Maybe there's a pattern there....

One correction: The set was by Alejandro de la Costa, not the costumes. The costumes were by Suzi Cranford and Dallas Costume Shoppe.

As the director of this show, who after weeks of rehearsal STILL leaves every rehearsal weak from laughing so hard, I encourage everyone to come see Shakespeare in Hollywood. And for all you Shakespeare-phobes: I promise that you don't have to know anything about Shakespeare (or Hollywood, for that matter), to enjoy this show!

It's not bad enough that we have theatre companies all running the same shows...now we have to have two theatres named "Uptown" in the DFW area.

Interesting season, but Grapevine usually does interesting stuff. I generally enjoy the shows I see there. However, I don't understand why ANYONE ever does My Three Angels. Crappy, crappy script. Blech.

Hey, there's ALWAYS a place in theatre for a guy with extra energy! ;)

Thanks for your comments, PlanoMike. Seriously. While we may not agree on all the aspects of the show, it's nice discussing our differences of opinion like adults. (I hate it when comments on this forum get accusatory and childish.)

I really hate it when reviewers comment on someone else's comments of their reviews (or even worse, when the director argues with a reviewer in this forum), but I'm going to break my own rule simply because of the length and number of his comments...and the fact that he seems to sincerely want answers about some of these things.

(1) Chemistry is much more than long kisses vs. ripping each other's clothes off. They just didn't have it, and that was only HIGHLIGHTED by the fact that Mr. High was shorter than Ms. Sarkar. Both of them are very talented and have lovely voices, but I just didn't buy their relationship.

(2) The Pick-A-Little ladies tried too hard and no matter how much applause they got, I will stick firm to my opinion that they weren't very funny.

(3) Regarding the "effective use of follow-spot," I actually thought about commenting in my review that the bright white completely washed out every soloist and small ensemble. It wasn't dreamy at all - it made those singing look like ghosts.

(4) I fully agree that the orchestra was wonderful! I was very impressed with them from start to finish. I just felt that based on the number of boys in uniforms onstage, there was too much instrumentation when they "played their sour notes." In other productions I've seen, it has been a much smaller group of instruments that began, so as to at least create the illusion that the boys are playing and not the orchestra.

(5) I didn't mention the opening scene because it didn't do much for me. It wasn't bad by any stretch, but I've seen it staged and sung much better and just didn't feel the need to say that. But since you asked, there it is. There were other scenes and characters I had opinions about, but I wanted to keep my review to a reasonable length.

(6) I love theatre of all kinds, and I enjoy expressing my opinion about it. And that's all it is - an opinion. I'm sure that even with all the good things I've said, there will be those who concentrate on the negative. Take note: I thoroughly enjoyed the show, as I said NUMEROUS times! It wasn't without flaws, but it was very, very good, and most importantly, it more than did what it set out to do, which was entertain a large audience and give them a wonderful evening. That's what it did for me and my son, anyway!

And regarding Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz created the TV show as a "social microcosm," not shipwrecked characters as the seven deadly sins, so that's the basic premise I went with for the musical. :)

Now THIS is an awesomely fun season! - Carol M. Rice, Artistic Director of Rover Dramawerks

As the Artistic Director of Rover Dramawerks, an 8-year old professional theatre company now based in Plano, my question is, what good is a 1300 seat theatre? Most small companies can't fill a house that large so you're left with touring shows, and most touring shows won't fit in a house that small.

Look at the Eisemann as an example - no one local can afford it. The Classics just went under trying to do so, and they were a 20 year old company.

Rover Dramawerks spent our first five years roaming because of lack of suitable theatre spaces, and if it hadn't been for the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano opening up, we would probably have shut our doors. The Cox seats maximum 120, and we usually configure the space to seat about 80. Even across the breezeway, the Courtyard Theater seats 325, and that's too large for a small theatre company, although we're working on growing into it.

What this area needs - and this is something that ALL small theatre companies keep trying to tell uneducated developers - is a bunch of smaller theatre spaces in one building. This would make it affordable and keep multiple shows going at all times, sharing lobby space and cross polinating their audiences.

Developers need to think about what is actually DONE in a theatre space instead of what might look pretty downtown.

What a great sounding season! (Other than A Christmas Carol, which I just can't stomach yet again, no matter how well done. I know there are some folks who just love it, though, and it DOES bring in the bucks.) I may have to see a show there again - it's been years. I got tired of them importing all their actors, but this sounds fun.

Carol M. Rice, Artistic Director of Rover Dramawerks in Plano

If I was a McKinney resident, I'd be pretty upset. One of the reasons my family moved from Carrollton to Plano, in fact, was the fact that Carrollton (which bills itself as a "quality of life city") had NO arts at all and kept building more soccer fields. What the world needs now AIN'T more sports, folks! How about a little CULTURE?

I've seen the play a couple of times now (I'm the director's wife) and if I didn't know where the choreography was, I wouldn't be able to tell, so I agree with Mark-Brian - you're not giving away any trade secrets. :)