July 22, 2012

Seagle Music Colony is about an hour south of Lake Placid, easy to get to, just off the main road in Schroon Lake, yet it feels like a world away. I drive down Charley Hill Road to a destination that is enveloped in woods. The original theater building was constructed in the 1880s and reminds me of gingerbread and icing. The much newer rehearsal hall has been constructed in keeping with the original architecture and the whole property looks to me like it could be a real-life set for "Hansel and Gretl."

Seagle Music Colony Theater Building, Schroon Lake
Tonight I am attending Seagle Music Colony's production of the opera "Little Women" based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. It has always been a favorite novel and I've been looking forward to this event all summer. This presentation calls for a 12-member cast with a female quartet. The Seagle Colony casts are young and come from all over the country to study and perform in this enchanted-like setting.

After the show and voluminous applause accompanied by exclamations of "Bravo" and "Extraordinary," I have the pleasure of talking to Erica Schoelkopf, the mezzo-soprano who plays Meg Marsh, eldest sister in Mark Adamo's opera, "Little Women."

This is Erica's second summer at The Seagle Music Colony. She describes the preparation as "a long process. It all starts with the music."

Meg--cast member Erica Schoelkopf

Erica was cast in her Seagle roles in mid-March but had been looking at the music since December. She finds this kind of piecing-things-together approach very interesting. But it is not until there is an audience that the final piece falls into place. So for the cast tonight's opening is just as thrilling as it is for the audience. It is the first time they are getting audience feedback--hearing the laughter, the sighs, and the applause.

Erica describes her first summer here as the summer of "learning the business, learning how to approach a role." For her, this second summer is more about how to accomplish and refine the role.

According to Erica, the "Little Women" cast has four returning performers: the actors playing  Amy, tomorrow night's Jo (two actresses alternately take on this meaty part), and tenor Zac Engle who so tenderly captures Jo's long-term male companion Laurie for us tonight. The rest of the cast is new to this venue. Erica finds this company to be a great group of people to work with.

Jo Marsh, Laurie--cast member Zac Engle

When asked if there is much improvisational work going on, she replies that there is some improvisation within the notes on the page and that there was some experimentation with how to differentiate the Marsh sisters as young girls to grown-up women, in her case, a mother herself. There has been much evolution in character from the first rehearsal to what we are seeing this evening.

I ask Erica why Seagle Colony here in the Adirondack forest? She tells me that her high school voice teacher in Florida had come here as a Colony artist in the 1990s. Last year, when Erica was looking for a place she remembered that and Seagle was one of the two that she applied to. Erica explains it as a "life-changing experience in the best possible way. Even on the hard days, I still want to be here."

Although Erica's role as Meg in "Little Women" will be over by the time you read this, she will move on to a completely different role for August 15 through 18 in Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd." Other company members can be seen in upcoming Seagle presentations this summer including Mozart's "Don Giovanni," "Hooray for Hollywood: A Revue of Music from the Movies" and "Little Red Riding Hood." The latter two will be at various venues in the Adirondacks.

To get dates and times and learn more about the magic of Seagle Music Colony, click through to the web site. For more on the wide-ranging Lake Placid arts events go to Lake Placid Events page.

Kathleen Recchia has been enjoying the arts in the Adirondacks for about 20 years—both as observer and participant (acting, directing, and producing). She also enjoys cross-country skiing, juggling, and hosting visitors to the area at her bed & breakfast in Jay. 

Seagle Music Colony Theater Building, Schroon Lake
Meg--cast member Erica Schoelkopf
Jo Marsh, Laurie--cast member Zac Engle

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