Little Shop of Horrors...

Hey. I have my life back. I actually had to take a moment to breathe in the fresh air yesterday and let the fact sink in that there's no more Little Shop of Horrors. No more rehearsals. No more shows. No more watching people getting gobbled up by Audrey II. I've been in many productions before, and have experienced this same feeling. Surprisingly, though, unlike those other productions, I haven't really complained about the amount of rehearsals I've had to go to. No, life as an assistant director was pretty alright.

This story really begins back in March when my drama teacher said that I could direct the school production. Best day of my life. Alas, the school decided that they didn't want a production (if we were playing rugby on stage or something, it would have happened in a heartbeat), and thus my world pretty much came crashing down around my ears. Thankfully, my drama teacher offered me the chance to help out with Little Shop of Horrors. So back in June, I gave up a lot of my spare time to do just that, and I don't regret it at all. It was aces. I even got to direct my own scene (the scene in which Audrey gets eaten), which was pretty fun.

There's not really a lot I can say here because many of you didn't see it. And hell, I wish you could (if you live in NZ though, you might be in luck). Well let me tell you that it was just a really good time. The rehearsals were mostly good. There were a few dropouts, but everything fell into place. I had to even be Audrey once. Which meant singing. And of course, my singing skills don't venture too far outside the shower and my vocal range is the size of a pea but I managed. I do admit that I missed being on the stage quite a lot. I love performing. Even if I can't sing my way out of a paper bag. However, this hasn't really deterred my over-ambitious and stupid want to be a director. Unfortunately, school has, and now I'm destined to be something really boring. Directing was fun, and I'd like to do it again. Who knows when that will happen, though?

So now I'll just share some photos. Other photos are either on my Facebook or here. All the show photos were taken by me, so don't misuse them. Otherwise I'll be after you!

This is my favourite photo that I took. It is just so cute. From left to right: Julenne (Chiffon), Emma (Ronnette), Graham (Mr. Mushnik) and Sheradyn (Crystal).

Here's our Seymour, who goes by the name of Aaron, and is actually a pretty fucking amazing singer (sorry for the swearing). This is the first Audrey II...

There's phase two of Audrey II...it is really hard to see (I should have got a better photo). Anyway, this one was pretty trippy. The plant was attached to a jacket, and it had a false arm around the pot, so Aaron could put his arm into the puppet and make it move. Everyone lost it when the plant was dancing along during "Ya Never Know".

Here's phase three of Audrey II. Our puppeteer, Angela, had to sit inside the plant for 40 minutes. For around 20 of those minutes, she had to be extremely still. However, in this photo, it is Lena (the coolest German exchange student ever) who is in the plant. Everyone lost it when that tongue started moving during "Git It".

And there's the final phase of Audrey II. And Mushnik getting eaten (which was really funny, too). Audrey II was a big, soft monster, and it was surprisingly fun to get eaten. There was this little slide that you went down and out the other side. It was awesome.

And there's my friend Tania, who played Audrey. Tania is actually the nicest, sweetest girl, so it was pretty weird making her dress all slutty and such. My favourite line of hers was "I'd put on cheap and tasteless outfits...not nice ones like this (talking about that exact dress she's wearing.)"

...and yeah, that's her getting eaten. Good times. "When I should die...which will be very shortly."

I guess we should have a picture of our Orin Scrivello, D.D.S, played by Mike. "Dentist" was the coolest song ever after "Mushnik and Son".

My favourite scene was "The Meek Shall Inherit", mainly because Horowai plays three different characters: Bernstein, an NBC man; Mrs. Luce, the wife of the editor of Time magazine; and Skip Snip, William Morris Agency. Funniest scene ever.

Just cause this is the scene where "Downtown" happens and that was my favourite song from the play. I cried during this on opening night. And then again on closing night. I love this song.

The most beautiful plant costumes in the world. Said no-one, ever.

How about a cast photo? Yeah, might as well.

Here are the themed nails that I did. I painted all of them. Now I'm at a loss as to what I'll paint my nails with now.

Tania and Lena will probably kill me but this is a cute photo of us. That hat that Tania is wearing caused a bit of trouble. Lena definitely looked like a bum. I actually look normal.

And that is me with Audrey II. I miss her already.

So yeah, that is Little Shop of Horrors in a nutshell. Normal blogging will now resume...