Welcome to Shaking The Tree
Below is our Blog for up-to-date information about the goings on at 1407 SE Stark St.
Audition Notice 2/4/10
Shaking The Tree is holding auditions for East of the Sun & West of the Moon, a marvelous spectacle for all ages, played in the round with live music, dance & shadow puppets. Our version of East of the Sun (an ancient Norwegian fairytale) will be inspired by anime, showing up heavily in our costume design and shadow puppetry but the show also carries a multicultural theme, with winds from all directions of the globe acting as witnesses and guides to our heroine who must save the prince from the obnoxious trolls. Actors & actresses of all ethnicities strongly encouraged to apply.
Roles:
Karen:
Female, teen (8th grade and up or woman who can play a younger age). A small but strong young woman who has a love for animals. Karen must go on a heroic journey to rescue the prince. (Some singing)
Bear/ Prince:
Teen (8th grade and up or a man who can play a younger age). A prince who is under a curse to spend his days as a polar bear and his nights as a man. He is later captured by the trolls and doomed to marry Longnose, the troll princess.
South Wind:
Mistress of the waters- a house keeping enthusiast. She likes to sweep. She is possibly African (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
East Wind:
Mistress of the land beasts. Has recently broken her mirror and has been befuddled ever since. She is near sighted. Loves to “borrow” clothes off people’s clotheslines. She is possibly Asian (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
West Wind:
Mistress of the birds. She lights the stars with her fire. She has a beautiful pair of wings. She is possibly Hispanic/Latino/Native American (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
North Wind:
Male. Older than his sisters. Very strong & foul tempered. He is possibly a Viking (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
The Winds will also double as Karen’s family (Mother, Father-woodcutter & two older sisters-materialistic) and the North Wind also doubles as the Troll King.
Longnose:
Princess of the Trolls (young woman with good comedic flair) Loves precious metals & jewels. Very spoilt. Excited about her wedding to the prince. Gets to wear the coolest 3 foot long nose sculpture created by artist Ivy Dixon.
Troll Queen:
Evil, terrible and slobbery but also very proud that her daughter is getting married. Also gets to wear a long nose, but not as long as Longnose.
Raven:
(Child, male or female, ages 7 & up) The West Wind’s companion who likes to rhyme words.
3 Captives:
(Children, male or female aged 7 & up- one will double as the Raven) Held in a tower by the Trolls, they eventually help Karen & the Prince to escape.
Auditions will be held on Tuesday Feb 9th from 6:45 – 9:00 & Wed Feb 10th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, with callbacks on Sunday Feb 14th from 1-5pm. Please call or email Samantha to schedule an audition slot. 971 207 9081 or samvan@shaking-the-tree.com
Actors will read sides from the script. Please also prepare a very short song or verse from a song and be prepared to tell a short version of one of the following stories: The three little pigs, Little Red Riding Hood or Cinderella.
Callback auditions will involve dance & movement for the Winds.
Other Information
Rehearsals begin on Feb 20th and will typically run on Mon, Tues, Wed, evenings and Sat and/or Sunday afternoons. Younger children’s rehearsals will be scheduled on weekends until tech week.
Performances begin on April 9th and run through May 1st and will run on Fri & Sat evenings and Sat & Sun afternoons. If possible we will schedule a small amount of school performances (no more than six) and realize that with such a large cast, this may not be possible, so do not let this stop you from coming to audition.
There is a small amount of pay. Principle roles will receive $100 and Captives & Raven will receive $50. Bonuses will be given according to ticket sale profits.
Please call Samantha with any other questions.
I look forward to seeing you all at the auditions!
All the best
Samantha
February 2nd 2010: Taking a week to decompress...
The Fertile Ground Festival was a great success! Thanks to Trisha Mead and Nicole Lane, as well as the Portland Area Theatre Alliance for making it all happen. We played to sold out houses every night and I look forward to creating new work for the next festival, although we will start sooner next time.
I'm getting ready to post audition notices for East of the Sun & West of the Moon. Rehearsals start the week of February 22nd, then I will post Summer Camp info online. Deadline is February 15th.
It is going to be a great Spring and Summer!
Audition Notice 2/4/10
Shaking The Tree is holding auditions for East of the Sun & West of the Moon, a marvelous spectacle for all ages, played in the round with live music, dance & shadow puppets. Our version of East of the Sun (an ancient Norwegian fairytale) will be inspired by anime, showing up heavily in our costume design and shadow puppetry but the show also carries a multicultural theme, with winds from all directions of the globe acting as witnesses and guides to our heroine who must save the prince from the obnoxious trolls. Actors & actresses of all ethnicities strongly encouraged to apply.
Roles:
Karen:
Female, teen (8th grade and up or woman who can play a younger age). A small but strong young woman who has a love for animals. Karen must go on a heroic journey to rescue the prince. (Some singing)
Bear/ Prince:
Teen (8th grade and up or a man who can play a younger age). A prince who is under a curse to spend his days as a polar bear and his nights as a man. He is later captured by the trolls and doomed to marry Longnose, the troll princess.
South Wind:
Mistress of the waters- a house keeping enthusiast. She likes to sweep. She is possibly African (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
East Wind:
Mistress of the land beasts. Has recently broken her mirror and has been befuddled ever since. She is near sighted. Loves to “borrow” clothes off people’s clotheslines. She is possibly Asian (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
West Wind:
Mistress of the birds. She lights the stars with her fire. She has a beautiful pair of wings. She is possibly Hispanic/Latino/Native American (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
North Wind:
Male. Older than his sisters. Very strong & foul tempered. He is possibly a Viking (good movement/dance skills. Some singing)
The Winds will also double as Karen’s family (Mother, Father-woodcutter & two older sisters-materialistic) and the North Wind also doubles as the Troll King.
Longnose:
Princess of the Trolls (young woman with good comedic flair) Loves precious metals & jewels. Very spoilt. Excited about her wedding to the prince. Gets to wear the coolest 3 foot long nose sculpture created by artist Ivy Dixon.
Troll Queen:
Evil, terrible and slobbery but also very proud that her daughter is getting married. Also gets to wear a long nose, but not as long as Longnose.
Raven:
(Child, male or female, ages 7 & up) The West Wind’s companion who likes to rhyme words.
3 Captives:
(Children, male or female aged 7 & up- one will double as the Raven) Held in a tower by the Trolls, they eventually help Karen & the Prince to escape.
Auditions will be held on Tuesday Feb 9th from 6:45 – 9:00 & Wed Feb 10th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, with callbacks on Sunday Feb 14th from 1-5pm. Please call or email Samantha to schedule an audition slot. 971 207 9081 or samvan@shaking-the-tree.com
Actors will read sides from the script. Please also prepare a very short song or verse from a song and be prepared to tell a short version of one of the following stories: The three little pigs, Little Red Riding Hood or Cinderella.
Callback auditions will involve dance & movement for the Winds.
Other Information
Rehearsals begin on Feb 20th and will typically run on Mon, Tues, Wed, evenings and Sat and/or Sunday afternoons. Younger children’s rehearsals will be scheduled on weekends until tech week.
Performances begin on April 9th and run through May 1st and will run on Fri & Sat evenings and Sat & Sun afternoons. If possible we will schedule a small amount of school performances (no more than six) and realize that with such a large cast, this may not be possible, so do not let this stop you from coming to audition.
There is a small amount of pay. Principle roles will receive $100 and Captives & Raven will receive $50. Bonuses will be given according to ticket sale profits.
Please call Samantha with any other questions.
I look forward to seeing you all at the auditions!
All the best
Samantha
February 2nd 2010: Taking a week to decompress...
The Fertile Ground Festival was a great success! Thanks to Trisha Mead and Nicole Lane, as well as the Portland Area Theatre Alliance for making it all happen. We played to sold out houses every night and I look forward to creating new work for the next festival, although we will start sooner next time.
I'm getting ready to post audition notices for East of the Sun & West of the Moon. Rehearsals start the week of February 22nd, then I will post Summer Camp info online. Deadline is February 15th.
It is going to be a great Spring and Summer!
Become a Fan of Shaking The Tree on Facebook!
January 2010: Shaking The Tree takes part in the 2010 Fertile Ground Festival, Portland.
Memory Water: A Story of Love, Loss & Liquid
By Andrea Stolowitz
Inspired by the many sightings of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) from 1502 through 2010
Directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe
Starring Chisao Hata, Nelda Reyes & Jorge Madrid
Dance, text and imagery combine in this retelling of the La Llorona legend. The ghostly apparation comes to the river every night searching for something, but she can't remember what. The river knows all the answers, but she's not allowed to reveal them. As La Llorona begins to dig through the river's silt a young Aztec girl named Malinali meets a young Spanish man named Hernán Cortés and their star-crossed fate, along with that of their countries' is sealed.
La Llorona is a popular legend in Spanish-speaking cultures in the Americas, with many versions. The basic version is that La Llorona was a beautiful woman who killed her children to be with the man that she loved and was subsequently rejected by him. She drowned the children then killed herself, and is doomed to wander, searching for her children for all eternity, always weeping.
The Fertile Ground Festival takes place from January 22nd to February 2nd 1010. Read more about our production and Follow our rehearsal process here
By Andrea Stolowitz
Inspired by the many sightings of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) from 1502 through 2010
Directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe
Starring Chisao Hata, Nelda Reyes & Jorge Madrid
Dance, text and imagery combine in this retelling of the La Llorona legend. The ghostly apparation comes to the river every night searching for something, but she can't remember what. The river knows all the answers, but she's not allowed to reveal them. As La Llorona begins to dig through the river's silt a young Aztec girl named Malinali meets a young Spanish man named Hernán Cortés and their star-crossed fate, along with that of their countries' is sealed.
La Llorona is a popular legend in Spanish-speaking cultures in the Americas, with many versions. The basic version is that La Llorona was a beautiful woman who killed her children to be with the man that she loved and was subsequently rejected by him. She drowned the children then killed herself, and is doomed to wander, searching for her children for all eternity, always weeping.
The Fertile Ground Festival takes place from January 22nd to February 2nd 1010. Read more about our production and Follow our rehearsal process here
September 24th 2009
Shaking The Tree needs your help!
Here's how you can help us...
CALLING ALL ARTISTS YOUNG & OLD
Please bring in a self portrait drawn or painted by your child or yourself for our Self Portrait Wall. It will be on the wall for the duration of the show for audiences to look at during intermission
HELP US REMEMBER OUR ANCESTRY
Please bring in a photocopy of your parent/grandparent's "family portrait" picture as a child or young adult so that we can create a Wall of Remembrance Shrine to honor our past and remember where we came from.
These two walls will an interesting and interactive way for audience members to observe the whimsical present and ornate past alongside each other and hopefully see the undeniable link between the two.
Drop off your pictures at Shaking The Tree Studio any Thursday or Friday before 3:00pm or Any Mon, Tues, Wed between 3:30 & 3:45. Please call (Samantha) ahead so that I can make sure to be there to collect your pictures 971 207 9081.
September 18th 2009
Rehearsals begin for the Portrait the Wind the Chair
Our rehearsals have begun for the Portrait the Wind the Chair and we are very excited to let you know that Tears of Joy, Portland's Puppet Theatre company will be making our chair for us. The chair needs to come to life in the second act and actor James O'Hanlon will working the chair-puppet.
Also in the play are actors Kristen Martz and Lea Zawada. Click here to book tickets.
More info to come soon...
Also in the play are actors Kristen Martz and Lea Zawada. Click here to book tickets.
More info to come soon...
Season announcement July 2009
Dear Friends
I am thrilled to announce our first season of plays for families and children of all ages. We will embark on three separate voyages. The first is a discovery of Terra Firma, the wildness of the imagination and the bonds of Family- in The Portrait the Wind the Chair. The second voyage is a heroine’s journey through the land of fairytale, to the very ends of the earth- in East of the Sun & West of the Moon and in our final voyage, the journey of a small boy across stars and planets teaches us to look more closely at ourselves, as he shares his discoveries with us. His name is the Little Prince.
I hope you will join us at Shaking The Tree for all three plays. As with Grimm Tales (our inaugural play) in December 2008, the studio walls will become a canvas, allowing themes to be explored through artwork and the studio to be used in a non-traditional way, as far as theatrical productions go. Collaborating with visual and other artists is an important and vital quality of Shaking The Tree. Another exciting piece to the puzzle is that our children’s “Act out a Story” classes will also be exploring the themes of each play in the stories we pick so that by the end of a class session, the children can feel more deeply connected to the play they are coming to watch.
Exciting stuff, isn’t it?
I can’t wait to share it with you.
Samantha Van Der Merwe
Artistic Director
I am thrilled to announce our first season of plays for families and children of all ages. We will embark on three separate voyages. The first is a discovery of Terra Firma, the wildness of the imagination and the bonds of Family- in The Portrait the Wind the Chair. The second voyage is a heroine’s journey through the land of fairytale, to the very ends of the earth- in East of the Sun & West of the Moon and in our final voyage, the journey of a small boy across stars and planets teaches us to look more closely at ourselves, as he shares his discoveries with us. His name is the Little Prince.
I hope you will join us at Shaking The Tree for all three plays. As with Grimm Tales (our inaugural play) in December 2008, the studio walls will become a canvas, allowing themes to be explored through artwork and the studio to be used in a non-traditional way, as far as theatrical productions go. Collaborating with visual and other artists is an important and vital quality of Shaking The Tree. Another exciting piece to the puzzle is that our children’s “Act out a Story” classes will also be exploring the themes of each play in the stories we pick so that by the end of a class session, the children can feel more deeply connected to the play they are coming to watch.
Exciting stuff, isn’t it?
I can’t wait to share it with you.
Samantha Van Der Merwe
Artistic Director
