Thursday, August 23, 2018

"Nunsense" is Habit Forming

Marietta Theatre Company has opened their second season with the heavenly hilarious musical "Nunsense", on stage through Saturday, September 1. There are only a few performances with tickets still available. Get yours now!

Okay, okay...my title, "Nunsense is Habit Forming" is hardly original, but clever is clever. And that's not sinful. What is sinful is not laughing your ass off while watching this brilliantly delightful musical.


"Nunsense" | Marietta Theatre Company
"Nunsense" | Marietta Theatre Company

Here's the premise of the second longest running Off-Broadway musical comedy...

"Five of the 19 surviving Little Sisters of Hoboken, a one-time missionary order that ran a leper colony on an island south of France, discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, accidentally killed the other fifty-two residents of the convent with her tainted vichyssoise while they were off playing bingo with a group of Maryknolls. However they forgot about four of the nuns and need additional funds for a proper burial! With the deceased nuns on ice in the deep freeze, they decide to stage a variety show in the Mount Saint Helen’s School auditorium to raise the necessary amount.
- Marietta Theatre Company

The five actresses in Marietta Theatre Company's production are indeed a sisterhood. They're wonderfully synchronous and harmonize brilliantly. 

My personal favorite is Sister Mary Amnesia (Sophia Decker), a Georgia native (which I didn't know before deciding she's my favorite). Sophia is a huge fan of tap dancing, which the show has! She's also a puppeteer! 

The show also has ballet, danced by Sister Mary Leo (Megan Wartell), who wants to be the worlds first nun ballerina. Told you it's funny! I asked Megan if she was classically trained in ballet. She didn't break character. She totally answered as Sister Mary Leo, reiterating that she wants to be the world's first nun ballerina.

What better way to open our second season than with a production that will have audiences laughing hysterically?” said Blaine Clotfelter, president and co-founder of Marietta Theatre Company. “As an emerging theater company in Atlanta’s bustling arts scene, we are honored and humbled to have received nearly 20 Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Award nominations for our inaugural season – more than any other theater in the region - and hope this show will set the tone for continued momentum in the year ahead.


"Nunsense" | Marietta Theatre Company
"Nunsense" | Marietta Theatre Company

Thank you to BRAVE PR for the tickets and for marketing such a fun show! I've worked with BRAVE PR for a number of years and they've consistently been wonderful and consistently represent their clients in the brightest limelight. 

See "Nunsense" at Marietta Theatre Company now through Saturday, September 1. A lot of shows are sold out, so DO NOT WAIT!

With such an awesome season as this, consider purchasing a season subscription and save 20 percent, equivalent to the price of a single show, to enjoy all five shows in Marietta Theatre Company's 2018-2019 season, including "Nunsense", "The Toxic Avenger", "I Love You Because", "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" and "Altar Boyz".

I saw The Toxic Avenger five times at another theatre...LOVE this show! And I saw Altar Boyz at a theatre in Bethesda, MD...another fantastic show! Can hardly wait to see what Marietta Theatre Company does with them!!!

See you at the theatre!

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Oakland Cemetery Photography Workshop

My first published photograph was in my senior year in high school in the largest newspaper in the state, on the other side of the state where I lived. I'd moved away from home on the East Coast and finished high school in Wyoming. Other than what my art teacher, Duane, taught me about photography when I was on yearbook staff, I've never had an actual photography class. I've picked up tips from others, learned a lot on my own, and have taken a webinar or workshop from time to time, but that's it.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

These photos are from a Photography Workshop I went on not too long ago at Historic Oakland Cemetery, a stunning, picturesque example of a "rural garden" cemetery in the 19th century. 

Some think it's creepy to host events in a cemetery. I think they've watched too many zombie movies. There was a time when the only public land in small towns was the local cemetery, so it became a gathering place where citizens would socialize and honor their dearly departed. Nothing creepy about that! 


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

There's another Photography Workshop coming up at Oakland Cemetery later this month! Sunset is the BEST for beautifully dramatic photos. The golden hour, it's called.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Oakland Cemetery dates to 1850 and started with only six acres. Today, it's 48 acres and is home to approximately 70,000 "residents", about the same number of spectators you'll see at an Atlanta United game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium!


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Among it's 70,000 residents, Oakland Cemetery is the final resting place of a few famous personalities and notable citizens, including Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind; Bobby Jones, golf legend; and Maynard Jackson, the first African-American mayor of the City of Atlanta.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

There are many different tours of Oakland Cemetery. You could go all year and not take the same tour twice! To name a couple, there are the Sites, Symbols, and Stories tours and the Music Makers tours!


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

And there are many different annual events at Oakland Cemetery, including Tunes from the Tombs, Malts & Vaults of Oakland, and the Run Like Hell 5K, to name a few.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

It's also a lovely setting for an evening stroll, camera or not, before or after dinner, perhaps. There are numerous nearby dining destinations, many flanking the cemetery including Six Feet Under Pub & Fish House, Tin Lizzy's Cantina, and Agave.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

Locals love Oakland Cemetery for its beauty and events and visitors love it for its beauty and its celebrity residents. It's a magnificent piece of historical significance and it's a celebrated icon. I for one hope the art, architecture, history and gardens at Oakland will be around eons.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

That first published photograph was of a toy drive for Toys for Tots. It was published in Wyoming's largest newspaper in Cheyenne, where I'd never even been. It was a journalistic shot, a career path I did not pursue, however, in Corporate Communications, my eventual career path, photography has become a cornerstone in what I do.


Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Photography Workshop at Historic Oakland Cemetery | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

After high school graduation, I returned to the East Coast, but a month later I moved back to Wyoming to live with my art teacher and his wife, Pip, for the summer. On their goat ranch, we'd get up every morning at 5:30am to milk their 40 goats, I learned how to bake, I jogged a lot getting ready for boot camp in the U.S. Navy, enjoyed an ample amount of MTV in its infancy, and there were many more photographs. 

I am ever grateful to Duane and Pip for their hospitality and for their generous contributions in shaping my future.