What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1480634
memorized it," she says of the challenge. "The reward is that we're bringing a brand-new script and score to life. There's something magical about that process when it all starts to come together." Braden Clapp is traveling from Tulsa, Okla., to play Carl Sagan. He's a recent graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in acting and theater and says he's "always been a sucker for performing." "In a world where prequels, sequels and remakes are currently dominating the entertainment industry, I think new stories are begging to be told," he says. "It's very rewarding to work with such like- minded and collaborative people, all with our sights at the same end goal. Working with a new show that is changing and morphing as we work on it is a beautiful challenge as an artist that keeps me on my toes and makes the experience feel very fresh. "The musical composition of this show is gorgeously written," he adds. "It sounds so incredible. But in order to make it sound so incredible, there has to be a lot of intricate rehearsal and preparation to keep all the vocals and things very tight. So there is a lot of hard work that goes into learning the beautiful harmonies of each song, but there is going to be an astounding final product because of it." "One of the greatest gifts for this project is also one of the greatest challenges in that we have a blueprint for the sound in front of us — the musical score — but we only have a skeletal idea of the final sound that will eventually blend all of the intended harmonic and rhythmic elements," elaborates Rebecca McBride, the vocal coach for the project. "As the words and music on the page are brought to life through our rehearsals, we get the privilege to be part of molding the blueprint of the score into the creators' intended sound." Learning a brand-new musical is "a curve ball," says Edward Mountz, who plays Jon Lomberg. Being fresh off of "Disaster," a '70s jukebox musical, gives him a leg up on the '70s inspired music of "The Golden Record," he says, but "it's definitely the hardest music challenge I've ever had." Unlike learning any popular musical, "we have almost nothing to go off of." "The rewards are born out of the challenge," says Gipson. "Getting introduced to a new story you've never heard, possibly finding a new song that will be added to your favorite playlist or, as with 'The Golden Record,' hearing stories that inspire and expand your humanity." "Much like the challenge the original team faced summarizing all of human and Earth history into 90 minutes of content, we've had to distill this incredible story into a 70-minute musical," says Hunter Bird, the project's co-developer, who will also be in Fayetteville to guest direct the show. "We hope that this show honors the tremendous achievements of the original Golden Record team, because they did something unimaginable with very little time or resources. It would be a privilege and an honor to share our musical with them, and that's the next step we're working towards. Once we have their blessing, we'd love to share the show with as many people as possible." WEDNESDAY, OCT. 5Th | 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Frisco Station Mall | 100 N. Dixieland Rd. in Rogers The Chamber's Northwest Arkansas Fall Job Fair is the largest and longest running Job Fair in Arkansas and is FREE to job seekers. This is a great opportunity for businesses to get a jump start on hiring for the holiday season as well as full-time employment opportunities. Availability will be on a first-come first-served basis so reserve your booth today to ensure access to many job seekers expected to attend. JOB SEEKERS Bring your resumés to hand out to employers For more information or to register a booth visit www.RogersLowell.com 4 WHAT'S UP! OCTOBER 2-8, 2022 COVER STORY Golden Record Continued From Page 3 Cody Walls (standing) opens rehearsal for "The Golden Record" portraying Voyager, a probe sent farther into space than man had ever been before, carrying with it a record of life, music and more on Earth. The new musical debuts Oct. 6 at Pilot Arts. (Courtesy Photo) Listen Here! Listen to a little piece of one of the first Pilot Arts rehearsals for "The Golden Record" at nwaonline.com/102golden/.