Ariel's Way Musical: AW 2010

About 25 of the talented people who have helped to develop Ariel's Way got together in Durham, North Carolina, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the show's professional premiere. Many of this group were my students and colleagues at Carolina Friends School.

Some of those who attended the Ariel's Way reunion
got together for a photo on our porch stairs.

I am deeply grateful for the commitment and contributions that this remarkable group of individuals has made to bringing this dream to life. It is gratifying to learn of the many creative directions that all these actors, musicians, writers, and dancers are taking as their professional lives continue to unfold. Some are completing MFAs; others are working in professional theaters, touring with dance companies, moving into arts administration or teaching, or advancing their free-lance careers. All continue to be sources of inspiration to the audiences they entertain and the artists with whom they collaborate.

Carolina Friends School will host a premiere of the "Ariel's Way" video on Sunday, October 10, 2010, at 2:00 PM. With Mark Goodwillie of Pelican Pro Productions and Hubert Deans of Snow Hill Music, I have been working steadily but joyfully, since February, on the video editing and sound mixing. The video is now in its finished and digitally polished form, ready for chapters and duplication. Copies will be available at the premiere. Then, let the marketing campaign begin!

Viewers will be impressed with the quality of the video--and performers will perhaps be surprised by just how good they look and sound. I am deeply appreciative of the effort, commitment, talent and creativity of the 40+ people who gave up their winter vacations to bring this show to life. Together, we created something wonderful and fun, meaningful and memorable, in a remarkably intense week or two. Now, after months of squinting at the video editing screen, and patiently refining 48 audio tracks, I keep finding details of the show that tickle and astound me. I never get tired of it!

As this project moves into its eighth year of life, I believe in it more than ever. I'm ready to release it to its fate, feeling the same giddy confidence that Victor and Ariel, Miranda and Freddy and Carib all grow to sense by the end of the show. "We're living large, I tell you what!"