VAPA continues to prepare for ‘Guys and Dolls’
What’s playing at Brown? I’ll tell you what’s playing at Brown. A musical about a gambling guy that falls in love with a mission gal, so he gives up his life of sin for love. That’s what’s playing at Brown.
VAPA continues to prepare for the production of “Guys and Dolls,” which begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Brown Auditorium.
“Guys and Dolls” marks director Robin Stephens’ second musical at ULM, following last year’s sold out show “Chicago.”
For Stephens, putting a musical together is like doing a puzzle.
“There are lots of ways to put puzzles together, and if you do it enough, you begin to figure out the most efficient way of doing what works and what doesn’t,” Stephens said.
The Department Head asked Stephens to direct another musical and wanted it to be as successful as “Chicago.”
“I love a challenge,” Stephens said. “The hard part for me is getting everyone together to do it. The natural and gifted thing for me is to direct and link dancing, acting and singing together. I can do that.”
Stephens danced on Broadway for multiple years performing in “42nd Street” and “Dance a Little Closer.”
“42nd Street” ran for nine years and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. “Dance a Little Closer” was an opening night flop Stephens said. It closed on opening night.
Stephens said performing on Broadway was her learning ground for directing.
McKenna Giovingo, who plays Adelaide, has never played a lead role before and said Stephens has taught her how to go with her gut.
“She understands how the stage works and how things read. I think people look over that a lot,” Giovingo said.
As the director, Stephens has a lot of responsibility making everything come together. Stephens said the big challenge is keeping it all together, keeping it on time and keeping it developed.
“Although I’ve spent a lot of time on the stage making a living, I really like seeing things go together,” Stephens said.
Nathanael Medlin, who plays Sky Masterson, said Stephens is incredibly organized.
“She has a great eye for character development,” Medlin said. “She gives me a framework and allows me to build off of that.”
Another challenge Stephens has dealt with is figuring out rehearsal schedules. During the month of March the cast was only able to rehearse five times.
For the next week the cast and crew will continue to have rehearsals each night to prepare for the show. Stephens said the cast is very happy right now and once they begin practicing with a full orchestra “they will be giddy.”
Stephens said the cast continues to improve each night in rehearsal.
Some productions don’t have time to do shaping and molding, which is what a good production needs, according to Stephens.
During rehearsal Stephens gave notes to the performers based on what needs improvement for the dancing, acting or singing. But on opening night there will be no more notes to give.
“I let them go,” Stephens said. “My work is done before opening night. I have to step away.”
Stephens said she wouldn’t be one of those directors who labors over the details or stands in the back and takes notes.
“There’s a lot of pressure. I’m kind of tough and can take it, but I’m ready to give it to the performers and production itself. But I can’t wait until Thursday night,” Stephens said.
For those who love musical theater, Stephens said there’s nothing like it and when she sees students “getting it,” she gets joy out of it being something good.
“I have a standard that I can recognize something that’s good or excellent. When I start seeing something get to that point, that turns me on,” Stephens said.
