The Neon Bible Project
A Canterbury Production
New Canterbury Production
Oct 14th
After months of rehearsals and preparation, The Neon Bible Project has come to an end. I think I can speak on behalf of all the actors, tech crew, and our director in saying that Scotland was an experience we will never forget. We would like to thank our sponsors, volunteers, friends, parents, and audience members for all of their support; we could not have done it without you.
There is currently a new show on the rise at Canterbury High School- the musical Godspell, directed by Paul Griffin. Please visit the website below for more information on the production.
http://canterburygodspell.com/
10 Days!
Aug 4th
I can hardly believe that after all of this anticipation we are leaving in just ten days! However, there is still lots left for us to do. We had an administrative meeting on Monday, where we got an itinerary outlining how we will be spending our time in London and Edinburgh. Seeing all the plans laid out made everything more real. On the 11th we will have a full day rehearsal in order to refresh ourselves on the show and make sure we remember it (how could we ever forget?) and then on the 12th we will be having an open dress rehearsal- see the post below for details! Next on the agenda: we’re making a plan of attack for packing our overwhelming amount of costumes and terrifyingly fragile collection of masks for the trip overseas. I can’t wait to get back on the stage and pick up where we left off. Next time you hear from us, we’ll be in Scotland! -Katie
Open Dress Rehearsal
Jul 28th
Didn’t get a chance to see The Neon Bible Project in May? Saw it but want to see it again? Or maybe this is the first time you’ve heard of it and you think it would be a pretty cool show?
Well, this is your chance! The Neon Bible Project is an original collective style piece of theater, inspired by and performed to the music of Arcade Fire. Created with the permission of the band, 21 dedicated drama students have spent their year working tirelessly to create this dynamic piece of theater.
On August 14th, the class will be departing to perform the show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but before they leave they will be holding an open dress rehearsal for those in Ottawa. This will take place on August 12th from 1:30- 4:00 p.m.
It will be held in the Barrie Alexander Auditorium at Canterbury High School.
Entrance by donation. Suggested donations available at the door.
Visit the event on facebook for more information.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=146421365373097
Scotland, Here We Come!
Jul 16th
Phew! Summer, summer, FINALLY SUMMER! It still feels a little weird not being at school everyday until all hours rehearsing and performing the show, but it doesn’t mean that Arcade Fire doesn’t run through my head every single moment of every single day. At first we were worried that during the two month break of summer we would forget the show, but I don’t believe that’s possible. That show will be engrained in our bodies for a while yet. And not only was it running through our heads, we got it see it in real life last night! Arcade Fire came to Ottawa’s Bluesfest, on Tuesday, July 13th at the mnba stage. All I can say is I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E. Almost everyone from our class who was in town showed up, we all were front row, and were so close to them we could actually see the sweat drip off their bodies. We screamed, we danced, we cheered, some of us cried, and we all thought we would faint when they closed with Wake Up. It’s an experience I don’t think I could ever forget, and I’m so happy I got to share it with my cast and now closest friends.
So what are we up to this summer if not rehearsing? Weeeeell, We plan to lay low until August, though some of us are working together on publicity/packing/administrative stuff. Gotta get a crowd in Edinburgh! We also plan to have 2 full day rehearsals before we leave on the trip, and though we relish the break, could not be more excited to run the show again. Scotland, here we (finally) come! -Anna
Opening Night
May 27th
Wow- yesterday was opening night, and we were quite happy with the turnout. I knew I was going to be nervous, but as we were standing in our starting positions and the curtain began to open, it really hit me. We were about to perform our original grad show! When the music started and we began the show, it was obvious from the energy onstage that we were all in focus mode. I barely even noticed how hot it was (supposedly over 30 degrees!) until intermission. It felt great to finally be sharing what we had spent so long creating with an audience. The reaction so far seems to be very positive, and we can’t wait for more people to see it! On another very exciting note, we have been getting some great publicity. There has been an article written about the show in the National Post as well as in The Guardian, which is a UK newspaper that is sure to help us with publicity in Scotland. I have created a press page so everyone can read all of the media mentions. Well, only three hours until tonight’s show! If you would like tickets for one of the remaining nights, email neonbibleproject@gmail.com to reserve or buy them at the door. See you there! -Katie
One More Day!
May 25th
Today was Victoria Day so you would think we would all be at home relaxing. You would be incorrect in that assumption. The Neon Bible Project takes breaks for no one! It’s getting to be crunch time and tomorrow is our last rehearsal before we perform on Wednesday so I’m really glad we got to come in today and work. We got the voice overs finished so today we did a run with all of our content. This was exciting because we got to see how it all blended together. It’s looking good but we definitely still have things to work on.
I feel fortunate to be in this cast because I assumed we would all be down each others throats by this point in the game. To my surprise everyone is staying remotely level headed and even though were all stressed we’re still working well together. We’re getting quite tired and our bodies are becoming cages BUT in the end it’ll all be worth it! WE OPEN IN TWO DAYS! WOOT -Matt
Cue- To- Cue
May 24th
Today we had our cue-to-cue and our first real run with all of our tech: lights, all the finished costumes, the masks, the props. There were glitches of course, and we still have plenty of work to do. But it’s nice to finally be able to do a run and know that, no matter what else happens, we do have a full show to perform! Overall the show really seems to be coming together. We did a lot of cleaning the songs on Thursday while the lighting was done, and you can really feel the difference. By the way, the lighting looks fantastic, which I can say honestly because I had absolutely no hand in it. Ironically, one of the biggest problems that I was involved in was that Katie and I, both in charge of Wardrobe, ended up putting on each other’s Scrag costumes for second act. At least we couldn’t be mad at anyone but ourselves. It’s almost time for us to open! -Liz B.
Little Bit Of Everything
May 18th
I cannot believe that there are only 8 days until we open. This is extremely scary. Thankfully rehearsals are really productive so I’m pretty optimistic about the amount of time left. After doing a run on Saturday (!!!), today’s rehearsal was spent going over act one and improving it. It seems like that is what we’re constantly doing: looking back on past work, wondering how we ever thought it was good, arguing, discussing and trying new things until the revised version of the song has been created. It’s crazy and a bit nerve-wracking knowing that parts can change at any minute, but that’s the adventure of this process. Soon it will come down to just running the show over and over. For the last hour or so of rehearsal, we finally had a chance to work some of the first act scenes. It’s almost strange to have to think about projecting my voice, when we’ve all been so focused on physical theatre this whole time. We also had some of the gr. 11s that will be traveling with us to Scotland at rehearsal today. They will also be helping with the shows here in Ottawa. Having them there has just made this all seem so much more real. Get ready, Ottawa! We are (almost).
-Veronica
