If you want to know who we are...

All right more of an I than a we, really. If you want to know who I am, my name is Ned Canty, and I am the stage director of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis 2007 production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. This blog will be tracking the rehearsal process from final prep through to opening night. Pictures, musings, trivia, the usual bloggy bloggishness of the blogosphere. Light on catty gossip, high on anecdote and backstage antics.

Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure how interesting it will be. Creating comedy can be extremely enjoyable, on those rare days when you seem to be catching lightning in a bottle. Did I mention those are rare? But there are many, MANY hours of rehearsal that are extremely technical and quite dull. Making it look improvised, effortless and inevitable is the goal, but watching it happen--or even worse, reading about it happening--seems like it might be the equivalent of listening to a singer's voice lesson, rather than their recital. Still, enough of my friends seem to think it might be interesting that here goes. If I get too dull, maybe I'll be able to talk a few of the singers or designers into guesting...

In the next post I will explain some of the genesis of the production, and post a few photos of the designs. For now, here is one of the photos that inspired the whole production. It's a cover of a Life magazine I found at a bookshop in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan back in 2003. The Bowling Geisha. Oh, yes.