What Fun! FOODPLAY Troupe One Has Finally Begun!

Getting to Know You
Greetings. This Fall, I’ll be contributing to the FoodPlay blog to offer an actor’s perspective on the ups and downs and all-arounds of life on the road with FOODPLAY. On the fence? I’ll give you my top three reasons to read these posts:

3) Road Tips. Plan on a road trip in New England anytime soon? Look no further for suggestions on everything from delicious local diners, fun Fall Festivals, and which rest stops have the best…resting facilities.
2) Funky Photos. These aren’t the photos you’ll see in a press release (nevermind that I’m no photographer and my digital camera is as basic as they come). Here, you’ll get real photos of real people doing real work and having tons of real fun!
1) Kids Say the Darndest Things. The work we do is all about the kids, and lucky for us, regular audiences of 400 little ones present more than a few noteworthy quotes. One of my favorites from last year:

Me: What do you have after you eat a fast food apple pie? (as I hold up the wrapper and try to get the kids to say ‘garbage’)
Student in the back row shouting at the top of her lungs: A HEART ATTACK!!!

Oh yeah, introductions! I’ll keep it brief for now, but rest assured you’ll get to know all of us better as the fall wears on.

Leading our FOODPLAY expedition is our spectacular stage manager, Travis:

And bringing Coach and Janey to life for thousands of kids are Alex and me, Joseph:

For more, you can always check out our company bios.

Juggling Retreat
Michael Karas is a bonafide juggling phenom. If you don’t believe me, check out this video. Or better yet, check out his website at michaelkaras.net.

Not only is Michael a master of his craft, he’s also the official FOODPLAY juggling coach. No matter where your three ball cascade (a basic juggling pattern) falls on the juggling scale, Michael works with you with patience and insight. He has the vision and skill to take you from where you are and show you where you can go.

At the beginning of our rehearsal process we had a ‘juggling retreat.’ Sounds fancy, huh? Basically we laugh a lot, eat snacks and juggle nonstop for two days. Our most recent retreat featured Michael looking at our current juggling skills and working with us to create custom-made tricks and routines for our specific show.

So watch out kids! We have a whole new bag of juggling tricks coming your way. Thanks Michael.

Coach J’s Pick of the Week
Every week at FOODPLAY offers a plethora of new and exciting experiences. I’ll use at least one event from the week as a means of reflection (and celebration) in this segment.

At the end of a long week of juggling, rehearsing, and line re-memorizing, some major relax and unwind time was in order on our day off. As a serendipitous surprise, FOODPLAY Troupe 2 was in town for the weekend before heading West for the rest of their tour. So our crew of 3 doubled to 6 as we headed out for some PA time…physical activity that is, at INTERSKATE 91.

It was a blast hanging out with other FOODPLAY-ers and hearing stories from the first two weeks of their tour. On a personal note, it was great seeing Keith (Johnny Junkfood) again, since we had the opportunity to get to know each other when our tours crossed paths in Illinois last spring.

Safe travels, FOODPLAY Troupe 2!

Until next time, stay healthy.
~Coach J