CONGRATULATIONS!

I promise to add more pics and stories tomorrow......but wow.
What a night. Tonight's performance was the best ROSE to date.
The audience was totally with us- cheering, laughing, and tears.....
all the good stuff that ROSE is made of.
The alumni office sponsored a preshow reception with over 100 alum, family, and friends. President and Mrs. Bultman were gracious along with honored guests, Jim and Donna Brooks who have presided over the Patrons for the Arts, the organization that funded the original Nathan Allen residency. Congressman Peter Hoekstra was also in attendance. Can't wait to include some pictures from the day- but it is time for some stress free sleep!
More tomorrow....

6 Hours till opening!

Preparations are being made!!!!



The technicians are finishing their work and the actors are getting into costume for some final rehearsals before inviting our audience in!

WISH YOU WERE HERE!

Rose's new home

THE KENNEDY CENTER!!!!!
Today is the day!
It is so hard to believe that the day has finally arrived.
We are all trying to soak up all the magic- the day will go fast- the memories will last a lifetime!

Springtime in Washington

Today was amazing. Sun. Flowers. Everything was just lovely. We all arrived in Washington safe and sound- the van group even arrived in time to see the Pope as his motorcade came down the street where they were sitting having lunch. This afternoon we were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Nowotny for a reception. Eva Nowotny is the Austrian Ambassador to the US and Mr. Nowotny was a 1959 Hope graduate. He spoke very eloquently about his time at Hope and his fondness for the formitive time that he spent with excellent professors and experiences in Holland. Off we went to the Kennedy Center in the evening to see the University of Oklahoma's production. As we walked up to the Kennedy Center we saw the poster for the festival- which is a picture of our very own ROSE with the RIME WITCH! WOW!!! We are so anxious to perform ROSE. Tomorrow we load in starting at 6:45am. It will be a VERY long day- but I am sure the excitement and adrenaline will carry us through. just hours now.....

ROSE Flies!

WOW! SO much preparation, so much planning, so much energy......we are ready to roll!!!!

There is a lovely Hope Bus waiting to wisk us away to the GR Airport. Many thanks for all the kind words and support from the Hope Community and beyond. We'll do you proud!
Washington DC Here we come!

Life Backstage in Radio Falls

For all the action that happens onstage, backstage has twice the action and craziness. In this show there are many more props than usual and many of these have to be set in specific places backstage before the show even starts. The assistant stage managers are in charge of prepping the props, handing them off to actors, taking them when the actors are done, and putting them out of the way. Currently there are also four people backstage specifically for running the fly rail where we take out or let in the stalactites and make it snow onstage. There are three wardrobers to help the actors with fast costume changes and one person to run the fog machine so there are quite a few extra people backstage! It is a crazy time backstage with all the actors, wardrobers, and assistant stage managers running around but there are also moments where we are able to enjoy what's happening onstage. because this show relies so much on the technical aspects-like props and sound, etc-the work backstage is very rewarding to see. So even though the audience-hopefully-never sees us in the wings and backstage, we are there running around with crazy jobs and troubleshooting anything that goes wrong, and in radio falls, we wear white to blend in with the set!

Back together a year later!

It has been a whole year since Rose and the Rime originally appeared on the DeWitt stage. Now cast and crew are back together one more time. This past weekend was full of long rehearsals, but people still had a good time just being around each other.

Please feel free to attend our final dress rehearsal tonight at 7:30pm in DeWitt.