There was certainly no shortage of people at the Woodstock music festival in 1969. In fact 300,000 people were crammed onto Max Yasgur¹s farmland for three days of peace, love, and music. When Shadowbox recreated the Woodstock festival for the original musical documentary, Back to the Garden, they did it with only 40 cast members.
For the stage at Shadowbox in the Easton Town Center, 40 actors were enough to fill the stage. However, as the Shadowbox production team began to re-conceive the musical for the special one night performance at Schiller Park on August 1, they ran into a slight problem.
"We want the show to look and feel crowded, true to the famous Woodstock festival," said Katy Psenicka, choreographer for Back to the Garden, "but the stage at Schiller Park is much bigger and much more open than ours. We realized our current cast would be extremely spread out and look sparse. So we added more people!"
Shadowbox has added approximately 50 people to the show. "When you look at the photos documenting the Woodstock festival you see a mass of people, a sea of bodies compressing toward the band stage," said Psenicka. "I think we successfully recreated that feeling inside Shadowbox. We hope that these 50 extra bodies will do the same on the Schiller stage."
The additional cast members will include Shadowbox performers who were not previously cast in the production, young actors from Columbus Children's Theater, and the Shadowbox volunteer corp.
Additionally, the high school students participating in Shadowbox's Summer Boot Camp program have been added (9 of which were cast members in the Shadowbox / Metro High School performance 'Metro Rocks the ŒBox') as well as four young children, whose parents are Shadowbox ensemble members. Lila Hahn, age 5, daughter of Matthew and Jennifer Hahn, Riley Makofsky, age 6, daughter of Jimmy Mak, Kiana Patrick, age 7, daughter of Nikki Fagin, and Isabel Paxton-Randle, age 6 will all be incorporated into the show.
Most additional cast members will act as "festival go-ers," participating as an on-stage audience. But the Summer Boot Camp students will participate at a higher level.
The high school students will be given specific blocking, weaving them into the action. "As a result of they're being more prominent I am requiring them to learn all the songs in the show so they can sing along with the cast. We are also planning on incorporating them into several dances,"
continued Boord.
The additional cast members, including the boot camp students will have just one day to rehearse the show with the original cast, July 25th.
"It's going to be a long rehearsal day for them but the entire purpose of the boot camp is to train these kids to do what we do," explained Boord. "Really, there¹s no better way to do that then getting them onstage with us."
Back to the Garden will perform at Schiller Park in German Village on Sunday, August 1 at 8:00 PM. Admission is free, but Shadowbox will be collecting donations on behalf of Actor¹s Theatre. Parking is available at Swiss Chalet Party House, Weller, Grange Insurance, Capital City Dental and
Barrett School. For more show information, call 614-416-ROCK or visit www.shadowboxcabaret.com/shows/schiller-park.
Back to the Garden is presented is association with Revolution Sports and Entertainment and is sponsored by Clear Channel Outdoor, Courtyard Marriott Columbus Airport location, Outlook, QFM, and The Other Paper.
Shadowbox is sponsored by Coca Cola, Costume Specialists, Courtyard Marriott Columbus Airport location, Crawford Communities, Cup O Joe, Genesis Audio, Jack Fleming Photography, Outlook, The Team/Revolution, WCBE.
Experience the story of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair with Shadowbox¹s original musical documentary: Back to the Garden.
With original scenes mixed with quotes from the key performers and songs from the concert itself, Back to the Garden takes you back to the summer of 1969; a turbulent, magical place and time where, for just a moment, half a million people came together in peace, for the love of music.
Shadowbox is a non-profit 501C3 performance troupe that self-produces a wide range of shows, as well as runs the company on a day-to-day basis. The top managers of the company make up the Board of Trustees and operate as the primary creators, producers, and performers for the shows.
For 20 years this creative force has produced world-class productions, including original rock operas, traditional musicals, fine art exhibits, contemporary dance, and video / television. An ensemble company of dedicated performers, Shadowbox is a healthy, vibrant, self-sustaining arts organization.
