Auditions have finished and our next show is finally cast. We were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people attending the auditions, lots of new faces and people who can actually sing too! The next large production, “My Fair Lady”, will perform in March and this week saw the first rehearsal commence. So watch this space. (Incidentally if you want to get involved backstage, or are a business interested in finding out about how you can sponsor the show and receive great advertising opportunities: email us on hits.hanoi@gmail.com)

In the meantime, see some of the HITS performers get spooky and mysterious this weekend at the House of Son Tinh (31 Xuan Dieu). HITS is arranging a murder mystery show for Halloween. We haven’t done it before, but have a feeling it could be a lot of fun. If you want to join in and try to solve the crime, make sure you are there for the beginning of the story. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 8pm.

“Love Shorts” sold out both nights. Saturday, people were packed in the aisles. It was a fantastic feeling as we had been so worried about doing a summer production, fearing that we may not get enough people in to cover costs. On the contrary, we could have done many more nights and sold out. Such a pleasure. What is more, we made over $1200 for HealthRight International.

A big thank you has to go to everyone who was involved; the cast and crew, L’Espace and our generous sponsors. Many of whom were thanked at the after party before total inebriation ensued along with the perfect moment of the last breakable bottle being smashed over a director’s head.

So what is next you ask? Well, we are working on it. Emails about the winter show are flitting across cyberspace and we are keen to hear from anyone who might be interested in getting involved or has a proposal for a show.

In the meantime, we hope you will join us for our HITS party on the 29th August. Anyone can come and find out more about HITs, watch some mini-performances, see photos from past productions, purchase dvds, sign up to our mailing list, or just come and hang out with us. More details to follow but write it down in your diary: Sunday 29th August, 5pm @The House of Son Tinh, 31 Xuan Dieu.

See you there.

HITS

x

Yesterday was a day of rest for most, although some of us were still running around looking for tablecloths, picking up tickets, collecting House of Son Tinh vouchers and of course that awkward negotiation re the broken light. (We finally agreed on shared responsibility and are splitting the cost of the replacement, although the split isn’t quite as even as we might have hoped for!)

We have a few issues with lights and sounds to fix, hoping we can charm our way into the theatre early. I am frantically running around today counting tickets and, more importantly, getting a manicure.

So I’ll run off and get prepared for the loving tonight. Hope to see you there!

x

But in an attempt to at least half a day off, I am not going to write anymore except: CHECK OUT OUR AWESOME TRAILER! Thanks to the lovely John Kis – we love you!

Oh and yeah, buy your tickets asap! x

It was two and a half hours before we even got to set each play with lights etc. L’Espace had been so efficient that they had hung all the lights for us, which meant Nic and the crew had to spend most of the time taking them down again and resetting them.

We still have to solve the problem of resetting the stage in the dark. There are no back stage lights at all at the moment, which means actors and crew stumbling ridiculously over chairs and cables. Hopefully we will find an answer tonight, currently requesting money from the budget for night vision goggles.

Tonight is the dress rehearsal, our last chance to get it right before the show. It’s exciting and scary all at the same time. What is more, having been through a few HITS shows by now, I am anticipating the “come down” next week when we can all breathe again and reclaim our free time yet also feel a sense of loss and sadness. That is until we start planning the next big HITS show!!!

Along with the site a-la wordpress comes the wonderful blog function and thus the HITS blog is born.

So what is going on at HITS right now? The smell of love is most certainly in the air as we enter production week for the upcoming show “Love Shorts”. Bottle breaking, bell ringing, apple eating and word playing…the HITS cast and crew are working hard to bring you some loving.

Today we move into the theatre for our technical rehearsal. Techs are always rather slow, testing everyone’s patience. However this time we are in the rather fancy “L’Espace” and things should be quicker. Nic, our technical director, is in a state of bliss up in the tech box. Everything works, and works well. For the first time ever we actually know what we are entering into. Although it also means we only have 250 seats each night, and Friday night looks to be a sell out. So if you haven’t got your ticket already, go buy it now! From JOMA, Puku, Daluva, Oasis Deli, or Green Mango.

Over the next few days we will keep you posted on proceedings. If you have any questions, please get in touch on hits.hanoi@gmail.com.

Bear with us whilst we try to add content, make it look pretty and work out how WordPress works!

Watch this space for news and updates about upcoming shows, rehearsals, cast and director info, press and anything else we can think of to entertain you.