Ovation Fellows are current students or recent alumni from Los Angeles area universities. Fellows are paired with a Mentor, currently serving as an Ovation Award voter, and see productions and meet artists around Greater Los Angeles throughout the year. Their articles, posted on LAStageBlog, are intended to be their personal responses to their experiences, and not as critical reviews or representing the views of LA Stage Alliance.
Aubrey Canfield is an Ovation Fellow from California State University Northridge.
The corner of Melrose and Heliotrope in Hollywood is perhaps the last place one would go to find a good ol’ honky-tonk bar but thanks to the Sacred Fools and Savin’ up for Saturday Night, the spirit of the south may be closer than we think.
The Sacred Fools theatre is situated in a less than desirable neighborhood among a cluster of other buildings. However, upon entering the theatre and being greeted with a warm “Howdy there!” it was as if I had walked into my favorite bar and was among friends. Aside from the cleverly designed set–fully equipped with small dinner tables, a cheesy stage for the band to play on and the ever present Pabst Beer neon sign glowing in the corner-the audience is welcomed into the bar by the actors roaming the audience; some are trying to get a drink order and others just want to chat.
The play’s action begins seamlessly, almost to make the audience wonder, “Oh wait, is it starting now?” Lively country rock music fills the bar along with exciting dancing thanks to choreographer Allison Bibicoff. While this is her first time working with this group, she is no newcomer to the stage.
Savin’ up is a new musical and that brings with it many exciting possibilities and many challenges. “It’s not like doing West Side Story,” says Bibicoff. “We had to figure out what the numbers would be and where we were going with the numbers.” Bibicoff admits one of the luxuries of working with a new piece is having the writer and composer available.
Other challenges addressed included how to cater the choreography and dance numbers to those members of the cast who were not strong dancers. “With the numbers we try to tailor them to [the actor's] strengths,” says Bibicoff. Some of her dancers were strong partner dancers while others were strong musical theatre dancers; it was finding the common ground in the middle that would make this a great show. Fully equipped with kicks and flips Savin’ up left nothing to be desired for the dancing and the entire cast looked fabulous.
What is next for the show? “We love the show” said Allison. “It has a great appeal and we want to move it to bigger theaters to keep the show going.” Savin’ up for Saturday Night is playing at Sacred Fools through Oct. 31, 2009.
For more information on Savin’ Up for Saturday Night or Sacred Fools Theatre, click here!
