From Kevin Massey, Actor from Little House on the Prairie the Musical

"LET’S GO WEST!...WAY WEST!

Having traveled mostly in middle America, I know we are all excited to be the farthest west yet when we arrive in Tempe! I’ve heard a lot about Frank Lloyd Wright’s ASU Gammage. A number of our cast members took a small field trip in Tulsa to see some of Wright’s work nearby. I think Gammage will be the most unique house we have played thus far.

Plus, it’s right on the corner of the ASU campus. I loved my days at UNC-Chapel Hill and the great energy of a college town, so I’m sure Tempe will not disappoint. We’ve got a lot of kids fresh out of college who will probably feel right at home.

A new city brings a new experience with the show. It’s always interesting to see how the audiences react a little differently in each state we visit. Some jokes land incredibly well in one place and then get a more subtle response in others. For instance, one line in the show is “Well, it’s 20 degrees below zero…thank goodness the cold snap is over.” In Minnesota, it’s one of our biggest laughs of the night. In Arkansas, we get a smaller but respectable chuckle. But in the end, everyone really seems to enjoy the journey. We’ll see if Tempe gives us a hearty guffaw!

We’re looking forward to bringing the wagon train into town soon!"

Kevin Massey (Almanzo Wilder)

From Sean MacLaughlin, “Raoul” in the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera …

Currently, we are in Tempe. It is a great town! I don’t think that I have EVER worn shorts on Halloween. The audience has been great and the ASU campus is absolutely gorgeous. I think in the past few cities, Tempe’s audience is the best! Every audience in Tempe have been extremely generous with their reactions and especially with the curtain call. I am being

completely honest when I say I don’t want to leave this city and I wish we were here longer. This city has a great layout and everything you need is a short walk, but if you want to get away, the mountains are just around the corner.

I love Photography and Comic Books so since I have been here I’ve found some great areas to photograph and I drove out to a toy shop owned by my favorite Spiderman Artist Todd McFarlane. Also, I like to gamble occasionally, so I ended up making a few trips to different casinos. Besides that, I have been soaking up the sun as much as I can before we head back to the east coast.

Life on the road is a blast. I carry around all of my entertainment (video games, movies etc) and we have a trunk that the company advances for us. Since I drive, I am able to cart around my dog and pack in more luxuries that make me feel home on the road. We are all so lucky to see different cities for a month at a time. At times the road gets extremely hard (i.e. driving from Tempe, AZ to Durham, NC), but once I get settled in, the drive isn’t so bad. I like to map out a route hitting every random stop along the way to each city. I will have many pictures from random roadside attractions at the end of the tour… I still have to get pictures of the world’s largest ball of twine and I still have to go to Roswell, NM. The drive is great because I get to take a road trip every month! I miss New York TERRIBLY, but I love doing this show and I haven’t gotten the traveling out of my system...yet.

Tech Talk

PHANTOM has been “In” for three weeks and all seems well with the production so I thought that I would show some of the structure that holds things up! This production, which has been on the road for 17 years, was one of the first productions that would alter theaters across the country to allow the show to fit inside.

The tour added structural steel above the stage and the house to hold up the Chandelier and Proscenium. These two set pieces weigh a total of 14,000 lbs!!

This is a picture of the stage right service truss. It is where the tour light board and its operator live during the show. The platform is 40 feet above the stage and you have to climb a “wire rope” ladder to access it!

An interesting note about the production compared to other large shows (LION KING, WICKED, etc) is that PHANTOM does not have any moving lights in the show. There is however LOTS of scrollers, strobe lights and of course pyrotechnics!

PHANTOM requires each theater it travels to have 30,000 pounds of stage weights (referred to as “Pigs” in our world) These pigs are used as counterweights to balance the weight of the show on the arbors (the white ropes on the right side of the picture are attached to arbors). The other way things are flown in and out is by the use of chain motors, PHANTOM has 52 of them on tour! The Stage Truss from the above picture is held up by four- 2ton chain motors!

Among the 20 trucks that take the show across the country is this “Billboard Truck” sometime this is just an advertisement truck but in the case of PHANTOM it is actually their Shop Truck. The truck is used to deliver all the tools that the tour might need to fix set and prop pieces. Hopefully we won’t need this truck while PHANTOM’s here, but it’s good to know it’s here if we need it!

It has been an honor to work with the PHANTOM Tour, hope you get a chance to see it while it’s here! If you have any questions feel free to email me, I’m always willing to talk tech!

-Jeff Rollins
j.rollins@asu.edu

Students Go To "Work" at Gammage

What is it like to work at ASU Gammage? Today more than 40 high school students had the opportunity to find out in ASU Gammage’s School to Work program.

The School to Work program provides students with unique insight into some of the careers available in an arts presenting organization like ASU Gammage through a three hour interactive workshop. Students are placed into departments and work with ASU Gammage staff getting a crash course in what it takes to bring a show to ASU Gammage.

In no time at all students found themselves making decisions about which show to book, developing strategies for fundraising, creating a marketing plan, coordinating box office duties and navigating the technical requirements of a show.

The students also received a visit from Emily Powell, Associate Company Manager with PHANTOM. Students participated in a Q & A session with Ms. Powell learning all about the responsibilities of a company manager, the training needed for this type of position as well as what it’s like to be on the road with a national touring company.

For students who love the arts this program can really spark an interest in a career they might like to pursue. After attending the School to Work program Nicole, 17, from Crossroads Focus School commented, “I’d like to be a part of this someday!”

Thank you to all of the students from Crossroads Focus School in Mesa, Raymond S. Kellis High School in Glendale, and Tumbleweed Transitional in Phoenix who participated in today’s workshop! Great job!

Kristen Markus
Cultural Participation Manager

PHANTOM rolls into Tempe

Eleven days ago, 20 semi-trucks ascended on ASU Gammage each filled with all the pieces that make PHANTOM the grand spectacle it’s been for the past 21 years.

It takes more than 50 local stage hands –
who work from 8am to midnight— to “unpack” everything from the proscenium, the lights, costumes, wigs and more before Gammage fills with audience members starting Wednesday, October 28 and continuing through November 22.

Local media had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at this process.
The grandness of Phantom doesn’t end with load-in … everything Phantom does is big!

Check out these Fun Facts:
125 cast, crew and orchestra members and house personnel are directly involved in each performance.

The Chandelier has more than 30,000 beads in it.

The national tour of Phantom has performed more than 7,000 performances.

More than 350 Phantom masks have been custom-made during the 20 year run.

I hope you all get a chance to see Phantom while it is in Tempe. While you’re sitting there before the show starts or at intermission, just think of all the hard work and the number of individuals it takes to get this show up and running … and in a few weeks these 20 trucks will depart Tempe and arrive in the next city and start it all over again.

Dana McGuinness
Public Relations Manager

Welcome!

Welcome to the ASU Gammage Blog. This is the spot to get the behind-the-scenes scoop and exclusive access to all things ASU Gammage. Weekly, you will have a chance to hear what Gammage staffers are up to from my days out on press interviews with the cast, to our cultural participation manager working with local students, to our technical director giving up some great behind-the-curtain info. Plus, enjoy entries from guest bloggers like cast members, resident artists and more. We look forward to connecting with you through our new blog … Enjoy and we look forward to chatting with you!


Dana McGuinness
Public Relations Manager
ASU Gammage