STHS Performing Arts

Welcome to summer 2009. I have a big list of projects for the summer including the manual import of all the old site updates and old Xanga update posts into this blog site.  Also in store are some possible design changes and the long overdue release of my professional site.  I’m starting to connect with people on Facebook and I’ve posted some offers for free/discounted stuff to promote my work.  While I don’t really have a chance to connect with everyone personally or online I know there are quite a few Hanna groups out there for students, alumni, band, musical, individual shows and probably a dozen things I can’t think of or find right now.  In order to promote the groups and my works I am going to work on creating a Hanna Performing Arts Facebook fan page this summer.  If you have any ideas of what you would like to see, let me know so I can add it.  This is probably going to be an August release or a July release with a lot of small updates.  I registered the page a few weeks ago, but I’m still reading up on the details and advertising perspective of things.

Since I’m importing all of the old material from the sites and Xanga by hand (copy, paste, edit, tag) I’m bound to miss a few tags here and there.  The old stuff isn’t absolutely critical, it’s more for the purpose of having everything in one location that’s a bit easier to read and find.  Once this particular project is done I may go back and review some of the tags and edit where needed, but like most other things there are no promises or timelines.

Please keep an eye on this space for updates new and old and contact me with questions or if you would like help.

This year’s show was Guys & Dolls. All images are up and DVDs are available to those who are interested. There is the possibility of a show in high def on Blu-Ray DVD if there is a minimum number of interested individuals. DVDs, photos and photo items from this show and previous shows are available. If you would like details on this, please send me an email. These sales will help me cover my travel and operational expenses, and a portion of the sales will be donated to the STHS Music Boosters to help with the needs of all the high school music programs.

Just a quick update on what you can expect here.  First of all, I’m going to work on importing all of the old news from the website here so everyone can take advantage of RSS feeds and various features in MSN, Google, Outlook and other sites.  Like everything else, it’s going to take some time to complete all the work.  All of the Sweeney Todd photos were posted as of the middle of last week and I’ve finally finished converting all the tapes to digital format and can begin editing everything for DVD.  I’m not going to beat the movie studio release (tomorrow) but will try to wrap things up as quickly as possible.  I hope to have more announcements in the coming days and weeks, so keep checking back.

As soon as I catch up on all of my work I’ll be adding a blog to my sites to allow everyone to receive RSS updates through Google, MSN and various other sites and sources. I appreciate everyone being patient while I work on all the material I have from this year. I made some server charges prior to the musical that have turned out to be rather disruptive and have been encountering some technical issues with my home equipment which have caused delays and some extra work on my end. At this point all of the rehearsal photos have been posted along with some selections from the show that I shot with a different camera. I am trying to finish the first complete set of show photos today so that I can upload them tonight. With my limited free time during the week it will probably take 2 days per set to finish everything up. Ideally I am trying to have everything wrapped up by the weekend so I can concentrate on the video aspect of things as well as catch up on other projects. Once everything is online I will be making some additions and changes to the list of photo items that I’m offering to include some new things like posters, canvas prints and more. Look for these additions sometime next week, and if there is something you want but don’t see, chances are I can probably have it produced, so contact me with any questions or requests.

Sorry, I’m not home much outside of work and in general since I’ve been on nights for the past many months I’ve rolled into a schedule of apathy in not wanting to do much work on my own projects at home and not keeping a fixed schedule (sleeping, waking up, napping pretty much whenever). I received the 2007 ACCs and Indoor Guard DVDs just before Christmas and those videos are now on the site. I do have other video clips from the band season but have not really looked at them since I dumped them from tape onto my PC. I will add them as time allows, and with the musical and learning my Reading Buccaneers music, I can’t make too many promises.

Musical… I will make it a point to be at a few dress rehearsals and I may get to do construction for at least one weekend anyway. As far as the show goes, I have a Buccaneers camp on that Sunday but I should be there Friday and Saturday. If you are not familiar with Sweeney Todd and are too poor or too busy to get to a theatre (like me), Comcast has the 1997 version in their free movies on demand. It’s not a musical and it’s not Johnny Depp but it’s enough to get the point across.

I’m sorry I haven’t been spending as much time on the sites as I should be. I’m preparing to deploy an upgraded server which will help improve the services I’m offering and also allow me to use it as a terminal server where I can access some important tools to make changes to the sites and work on photos from remote locations if I’m not at home or don’t have all the data on my laptop. I don’t make a profit from this and I enjoy what I do, I’m just getting killed with the cost of travel (imagine how bad it would be if I owned a truck or sports car!). If you like what I’m doing I encourage you to buy photos, memory books or other gifts as they help cover my expenses and I also donate a portion to the music boosters. Yes, I’ll even accept lottery tickets, and if I hit the big one my first goal is 4 new marching tubas

I’m off to a late start mostly due to a variable sleep schedule now that I’m on night shift (not setting an alarm most days is great) and keep up with some things at home. I have photos and video clips from parents night and the first two football games along with the field dedication. I’m going to try to cut up some of the clips and post them on MySpace and Youtube along with the website provided I can secure them or post them in a way that won’t leak the show out to everyone in TOB. I’m probably going to abandoned this as a blog if I open an artists Myspace account (sorry, not giving out my real one) or just install Wordpress on one of my sites.

Hopefully I’ll have some new content soon. Comments, suggestions, requests and submissions always accepted. I also could use the services of a graphic designer or web designer so contact me if you have any leads on that

Wildwood Prelims photos were posted a few days ago, but I haven’t had a chance to order a DVD yet. It’s been very chaotic trying to get everything setup here. I also just switched to night shift so I might have a bit more time to get things in line after this weekend. If someone could send me a summer schedule, I would appreciate it.

Indoor Guard photos from Chapters have been posted. If time allows I might get Ephrata’s photos posted on my personal site. I haven’t edited the ACCs Prelims photos yet, maybe I’ll get to that on Friday as well as get to order the ACCs Finals DVD. I’m still unpacking and getting setup in my new apartment but tonight I came across the information on what company filmed the 2001 indoor guard championships and I’ll see about locating some contact information and ordering a DVD.

If someone could send me a copy of the summer band schedule I would appreciate it. Other than that, I’ll be at the jazz band concert tomorrow night but can’t make Arts Fest on Saturday. Videos would be appreciated. More at a later date.

This is a bit late in coming. I finished up the show DVDs for two different schools a few weeks ago and mailed everything out to staff members. I’m also working on my wedding photography portfolio and getting ready to move in a few weeks.

Anyway, to cover travel expenses, running the site, equipment, etc I’m selling a Kiss Me Kate DVD package – both shows for $20. If you’re interested, call or email me for more info.

Photos from yesterday’s show at Daniel Boone HS will be posted later this week, probably by Tuesday night. I leave for New York on Thursday to spend some time at B&H Photo and around the city and then Tottenville High School’s production of Little Shop of Horrors.

Anyone who wants to make a weekend trip to NY I’m sure they would appreciate the support of techs, performers and theatre fans alike.