BEAMING, INVESTORS HOLD VIRTUAL MEETING, REAL-TIME PARTY
The second TEST Happy Hour for investors and supporters featured a beam-in by skype with TEST director Hannah Price for a virtual meeting. It also featured beaming faces. There was plenty of good cheer under the wooden beams of the fifteenth-century, top-floor flat of TEST musical director Christine Archer in the heart of old Basel, as investors heard directly from the core creative and production teams about the progress so far.
“TEST has grown from a small snowball to an enormous avalanche,” Anne Maria Schmid told the 23 people attending the event. Anne plays Sophie in TEST and has been involved in the production from almost the beginning, lending her beautiful voice, acting skills, and deep knowledge of the theater world in Switzerland and Germany. “I feel a lot of emotion in TEST,” Anne added. “I am passionate about this project.”
STAND UP AND SPEAK
After several glasses of good wine and some good conversation, each person attending the TEST Happy Hour, whether an investor or not, gave their own personal testimony about their involvement in TEST. One investor, for example, said that she was blown away by the first TEST workshop in September 2014, when the TEST actors sang the entire first act. She recounted how she had no expectations beforehand, but came away a firm believer in TEST. And she immediately became an investor.
One by one, each person shared their story of why they got involved: for the beauty of the music, for the important story that TEST tells, for the joy of getting in a theater project on the ground floor, for the love of watching a production take off and succeed. And for the great parties, some admitted.
The reasons for involvement varied with each person. But behind each story there was a deep sense of personal passion for and commitment to TEST.
A BEAMING FACE
Hannah Price then dialed in to attend the event virtually via Skype from her home in London, her face beamed onto one of the white walls in Christine’s flat. The message she wanted to bring to investors and supporters was clear: TEST is a rock opera with a huge future, and she is very pleased to bring out the potential in TEST by directing it. Hannah also talked about the hard work ahead, especially for the actors.
“I plan on giving them a lot of homework,” Hannah said, in explaining her working method. “They need to come to the first day of rehearsals well prepared about who their character is and the character’s back story.”
Hannah also talked at length about her staging plans, and how she also wants to bring out not only the substance of TEST but the humor as well.
IF BEAMS COULD TALK
The evening also featured several songs from TEST performed by Daniel Raaflaub, Anne Maria Schmid, and Sylvia Heckendorn. It was a special and intimate moment for investors to hear these songs unplugged, with Christine on piano, sung by three key members of the cast. The next time that investors are likely to hear these songs it will be with the full band and orchestra at Scala Basel in February next year. Everyone agreed after the mini-concert that the harmonies had tingled their spines. Even the wooden beams supporting the roof were reverberating.
The next TEST Happy Hour for TEST investors will take place once again in Christine Archer’s spacious flat, where by now the beams are no doubt used to the unique vibration of good music, harmonious voices, and free-flowing conversation.
