VALDOSTA —
Anyone who has ever read P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book, “Go, Dog. Go!” — and it’s been read by millions for generations — may wonder how Peach State Summer Theatre will create an hour-long play from this thin but beloved book.
After all, it’s about dogs eating, dogs sleeping, dogs playing, dogs dealing with the heat ... All written in a Seuss-like series of concise lines. How can you transform a five-minute-or-less read into a full-scale children’s theatre piece?
Well, for starters, you might do what playwright-composers Allison Gregory and Steven Dietz did in adapting the book for the stage. You create a song about dogs eating, another for dogs doing this and another song for dogs doing that. Then you allow the directors and actors to have fun finding other things for the dogs to do.
“There’s a lot of physical comedy, dancing and music,” says Barbara Hartwig, the show’s director and choreographer. “There is little dialogue. I don’t want to say that the characters are like clowns or mimes, but there is an almost circus quality to the show.”
“Go, Dog. Go!” also takes a different approach than other PSST! shows. All Peach State shows have a live orchestra but, typically, the orchestra is hidden backstage. Some may argue that the orchestra is so well hidden that some audiences do not realize that live musicians are performing each show’s music.
In this show, the orchestra is visible on stage. The dog performers work with the orchestra. The orchestra provides sound effects for the action as well as the music.
Given this interactive dynamic, having the orchestra able to see the performers is essential, Hartwig explains. While the orchestra does not necessarily need to see to know when it’s time to start the next musical number, it does need to see the performers when a sax player is supposed to honk the horn when one performer runs into another.
Last fall, PSST! received $10,000 through the National Endowment of the Arts’ American Communities Grant to encourage reading and literacy through “Go, Dog. Go!”
Opening this weekend, “Go, Dog. Go!” is Peach State’s second show of the 2012 season. “Legally Blonde” continues performances and the third show, “The Light in the Piazza,” opens next week.
For Hartwig, the show ends after this weekend’s opening. While “Go, Dog. Go!” continues for the next several weeks, Hartwig travels to New York to direct a production of “Cats.”
“Going from dogs to cats,” Hartwig says, “that’s my summer.”
THE CAST: Kelly Methven, Krista Severeid*, Megan Wheeler, Robert Teasdale, Madison Johnson, Will Sedwick Dozier, Sarah Mitchel, Shelby Nichols, Christiani Pitts.
* Denotes the actor appears through courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
DIRECTION, PRODUCTION: Barbara Hartwig, director, choreographer; Paul J. Guilbeau, conductor; Christopher Bailey, vocal director; Lauraleigh Shealey, stage manager; Tom Hansen, scenic designer; Genny Wynn, lighting designer; Esther Iverson, costume designer; Anna Warda Alex, sound designer; Michael Driggers, technical director.
TECHNICAL STAFF: Dorothy Barnes, draper/stitcher; Timmy Dow, assistant technical director; Taylor Dyleski, sound/electrics assistant; Craig Hawkins, scenic artist; Rebecca Morris, carpenter; Joe Muncy, carpenter; Ryan Ponsell, master carpenter; Kristina Prince, stitcher/dresser/wardrobe; Kathy Raess-Young, costume shop supervisor; Patrice N. Trower, costume shop assistant; Jonathan Willis, props supervisor; Tori Young, master electrician.
MANAGERIAL STAFF: Shawanna Hall, house manager; Lauren Hallford, box office manager; Caleb Spivey, company manager; Abby Vincent, assistant stage manager.
SHOWTIME
Peach State Summer Theatre presents “Go, Dog. Go!”
When: The show plays 7:30 p.m. today, June 15; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 16; 2 p.m. June 23, 27, 30, July 4, 7, 11, 14.
Where: Sawyer Theatre, Valdosta State University Fine Arts Building, corner of Oak and Brookwood.
Reservations, more information: Call (229) 259-7770; or visit the website www.valdosta.edu/psst
The Valdosta Daily Times is PSST!’s corporate sponsor.
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Dean Poling | The Valdosta Daily Times Peach State Summer Theatre brings P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book, ‘Go, Dog. Go!’ to life.
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Peach State Summer Theatre presents its annual children’s show, ‘Go, Dog. Go!’ opening this weekend and playing through mid-July.
Discussion
Go, Dog. Go!
Peach State opens children’s musical
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