News!

My thoughts when checking over my website and clicking on the Blog tab earlier today: "Sheesh---Has it really been since April that I've posted? I think it's about time to write again!" ;) Here's a few quick updates!

In addition to the exciting news that The Rita Rose Holiday Show will be premiering at the Jedlicka Performing Arts Center December 12-14, 2014, Towle Theater will be presenting it on Thursday December 18th! Ticket information for JPAC: Click Here for JPAC tickets!  Ticket info for Towle Theater: Click here for Towle Theater tickets! More dates TBA.

It has been a few months since Fan Mail Friday with Rita Rose began, and I've been having so much fun with it. You can view the Fan Mail Friday videos on The Rita Rose Youtube Channel.

Lastly, I'm so happy to have recently joined the cast of Looking Glass Friends Entertainment! Here's a promo photo for very special upcoming Princess event! 

Can you tell which one is me? Here's a hint.... ;) 

I've been very impressed with the owner, Christine's, company organization, costumes, and training materials! This "gig" really is a dream come true. I can't wait to start seeing the little faces light up :) 

Lastly, to assist with booking The Rita Rose Show, and to give everyone a better idea of what the show is about, I created a Trailer. Here it is!

Learning to Market Your Work

I've been learning a lot about marketing yourself during this whole process of developing The Rita Rose Show. When I was focused solely on auditioning for theatrical productions, I didn't have to worry about marketing aside from inviting family and friends, but when you're pretty much running the show, you've gotta get word out about your project. In college, the program for a Voice Performance degree didn't require a marketing class, and never did it occur to me to take one as an elective, but I wish I had!  Thankfully, I had excellent English teachers throughout my years (Thanks, Mrs. Sparks!) which has helped in sounding professional during the learning process.

For the first show in September 2013, I didn't do anything above using social media to post the promo poster as well as submitting the event for calendar listings (i.e. Chicago Metromix) as, honestly, I didn't know exactly what to do, and I was focusing on pulling all of the parts of the show together with the help of my sister and my band. 

When show #2 rolled around, I had researched how to write a press release, and wrote one. I submitted it 6 days before the show, but it's much better to send it AT LEAST a week in advance. I then submitted it to media contacts that Melanie Lamoureux so kindly shared with me as well as contacts that I had found online. I didn't hear back from anyone, but I also made the mistake in not following up with a phone call and just hoped that the e-mail would be sufficient. I also prepared media packets (Press Release, business card, and a promo photo) for the show just in case someone showed up.

Here's my very first press release minus the top part as I didn't want to share my personal contact info to the whole world ;)

Show #3 had built in marketing as Morton College listed it in their events, FB page, and e-mails, and some students were even required to go ;)

By show #4, Martyrs', I had a better handle on what to do, and Martyrs' even provided their own awesome Media contacts list. 

Here's what I did:

1. Wrote a Press Release.

2. E-mailed it at least 2 weeks prior to the event. Attached a couple of promo photos and gave a link to where more media and information could be found (my website), and by that point in time I had a few videos of the show to give them an idea of the show. 

3. Submitted to event calendar listings (Chicago Metromix, Big C Jamobree, Windy City Media Group, etc)

4. Failed to followup with a phone call--oops--duh, Rachelyn, media people have busy lives and receive a lot of submissions! 

      As my friends sat starstruck (except for me as I didn't know who that guy was at the time--Go Panthers!) while Jarrett Payton was giving out samples of his craft brews when we were hanging out in Naperville one July weekend, Jarrett told us how he didn't want to ride off of his father's fame and also said this (may not be exactly word for word, but you get the drift) which has stuck with me since: "People doesn't just hand you things, you have to go get it!"

5.Used Social Media to post Promo poster to (FB Fan and personal page, twitter, and instagram)--but definitely didn't overdo it to make people NOT want to attend ;)

Guess what, though? I shrieked out of excitedment when I received a voicemail from 90.9 FM WDCB's assistant news director, Gary Zidek, as he had received my press release and asked me to come into the studio for an interview. I scheduled a time, and had an absolutely wonderful experience meeting and chatting with Gary. His friendliness immediately calmed my nerves (it was my first radio interview!), and it's an experience I'll always treasure. You can listen to it below!

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/141079758&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_artwork=true"></iframe>

A few photos from the interview:

There's still SO much more to learn, as those steps are just the basics. You bet that I'll happily share more once learned!

Twinkling Lights Endeavors: Achieved!

A bit over 4 years ago when I began this blog I had posted somewhere in the layout "Oh, I'd like to be on some marquee, all twinkling lights" which are a snippet of lyrics from the song Broadway Baby. I used to adore that song and sing it all of the time as the book that it was in was one of my two musical theatre books that I owned at the time. The blog was named after that line, and YOU GUYS, IT HAPPENED! Proof:

With me as Rita Rose's band "The Sugar Daddies" are Billy Shaffer, Marc Edelstein and Shaun Whitley!

AND to top it off, I got my very first review. Victor of Vic's Drum Shop attended the show and said this: 

"@  Martyrs' in Chicago taking in the musical stylings and comedic antics of the Rita Rose Show featuring GMS Drums artist Billy Bob Shaffer.

Ms. Rita (Rachelyn Primm) never breaks her 1950's character as she tells jokes, shares tips, and role plays with audience members, all while ripping through a set of classic rockabilly tunes with a band that consists of current and former members of the Million Dollar Quartet musical.

Highly entertaining!!"

The Rita Rose Show at Martyrs' was my best show, yet. Each performance I feel is kind of like a workshop in the theatre world. I'm learning what material I've written works, what material flops, good song choices, how to play and interact with an audience even more, pacing, how to better cue the band, and quite a few other aspects that go into The Rita Rose Show.  Dan, Martyrs' sound man, was brilliant!

Through a few different circumstances, my band members that night were completely different than who I had originally planned on, but I was incredibly honored to get to share the stage with current and former Million Dollar Quartet cast members Billy Shaffer, Marc Edelstein, and Shaun Whitley. We didn't get the chance to rehearse, yet they were amazing, of course! Definitely missed having Michael Goodman on stage in the show, though.

Also, Among the wonderful audience members was the cast of Paramount Theatre's RENT who made it even more a party.

Rita Rose singing and dancing with Sawyer Smith (who was stunning in the role of Angel in RENT)

I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of fantastic crowd that night including Tim who just opened up The Foxhole Chicago (and actually joined me on stage during Rita's game "Casting Director"). Tim showed me around The Foxhole a week later, and it's a great new artist space that has many uses including a recording studio, rehearsal space, photo studio, etc. It was fun chatting, too, as we have many friends in common. I can't wait to collaborate on future projects!

Lastly, I couldn't resist snapping a shot of Wanda Jackson's headshot and signature in Martyrs'. I felt so privileged to get to play with an incredible band where she and so many great artists have previously played.

The show will be making its way back to Martyrs' this summer! Date TBA!

Upcoming Show Dates

I'm very happy to announce that The Rita Rose Show will get to play in a venue that I've passed every single day during my life here in Chicago AND where so many great artists (including Wanda Jackson!) have performend....drum roll....Martyrs'! Click here for the Facebook Event for The Rita Rose Show @ Martyrs' on 3/24! Here's the promo poster:

Also, this Friday (3/7/14) at noon I get the privilege of doing a set of The Rita Rose Show at Morton College during their Lunch Hour Concert Series. I've "guest-taught" Rebecca's art class at Morton College as Rita Rose in teaching her students how to draw Monsters--something I've become excellent at doing--so it'll be fun to have those students as well as the other students, faculty, and staff in the audience. Morton College is where JPAC is, and I've done numerous theatrical shows there, so I'll feel right at home performing as Rita Rose. 

Lastly, Rita Rose has an instagram account now! I have a feeling that will be the best way to keep up with Rita Rose happenings as I'm already having way too much fun with it.

Follow Rita Rose here:

   

The Rita Rose Show #2!

It's been just over a week since the second performance of The Rita Rose Show! 

These people have played a ginormous role in The Rita Rose Show:

Michael Monroe Goodman. When the concept for the show first popped into my head, he is the one that verified that it wasn't a silly idea, encouraged me to go for it, and offered to play in the band, too! As for this particular show, he helped me a lot with editing the script, and all of the fabulous members of The Sugar Daddies were musicians that I'd met through him. 

My lovely sister, Rebecca. I could not have survived without her keeping me calm and in line, blinging out the Rita Rose costume, spending hours designing my posters, and being a food runner for the day of the show.

On the day of the show, I knew snowfall was expected, but I didn't realize it'd be blizzard conditions. As the day and the snow progressed, it was so dangerous outside, that I thought the show would be cancelled. The show was still a go, and everyone involved arrived safely. The guests who trekked through the show were such a wonderful audience, too. The Sugar Daddies were a blast to play with, and though none of the photos of us after the show turned out, here's a matchy-matchy photo with Zach Lentino  (upright bass) and his leopard print tie. :) 

One more photo! One of the special guests on stage was the birthday boy, Ryan Roets, who just moved to Chicago for the next few months. I've known Ryan since high school, and here's a photo with Rita Rose and The Razzle Dazzles. 

I wish I could turn this off, especially when trying to sleep, (but I guess it's a blessing) but I replay over and over performances in my mind to figure out what I could've done better. Here's a few things I learned from this show!

1. Always giving your best performance. Focus. Turn off "the voices" that try to bring you down. 

2. Know the show like you know your ABC's. You can never over prepare. "Over-preparation" is especially necessary in the event when something unexpected (like a blizzard) happens that shakes you up a bit. 

3. Don't let your nervousness as a result of the unforeseen circumstances affect the way you handle pre-show preparations. Deep breaths and an optimistic spirit are necessary.

The creation of both shows were a fun, but sometimes difficult task. You have to have a lot of will-power to succeed as you don't have a director or stage manager giving you call times and telling you when to be off book. This includes getting up early, going to bed late, and limiting attending social events. A friend at the very start of my theatrical career taught me the importance of spending time perfecting your art.  It's tough to juggle a day job while writing, coordinating, costuming, and learning music for a show, but thankfully my day job has been so sweet and supportive throughout the whole process. 

A couple of more show dates are in the works to happen before I head out of town for a couple of months for training for a new job! All of those will be announced when everything is official :) 

The Rita Rose Show

You are invited to the upcoming performance of The Rita Rose Show! This performance will have extra special treats including The Sugar Daddies (Guitar: Michael Goodman, Piano: Colte Julian, Upright bass: Zach Lentino, Drums: John Perrin), The Razzle Dazzles (Rita Rose, Nelia Miller, and Lauren Demerath), seat prizes, and the opportunity to purchase Rita Rose merchandise!

It is on February 17 at 8:00pm, $10 Cover with a 2 Beverage minimum, and once again at Davenport's Piano Bar & Cabaret. Reserve your seats at www.davenportspianobar.com or by calling 773-278-1830!

I'm very excited for this upcoming performance as this show contains a new script, new setlist, and very special guests. Also, be on the lookout for new Rita Rose Show dates that are in the works for other venues! 

Success!

In spite of only having a month to write/memorize a script and learn 10 new songs, band members changing last minute, and a first full band run through the day of the Rita Rose show, the very first Rita Rose show was a success!

I'm super thankful for my brother Matthew's and my sister Rebecca's encouragement and support. Rebecca had to bear through me script brainstorming, reading my script to her over and over, and had to listen to me cracking myself up constantly. She also was there for me to design my poster, help with the female costumes, pick up food for the band, and whatever else was needed. When it got down to serious crunch time and we didn't know how things were going to come together, Rebecca reminded me that "Failure is not an option. Primm's don't fail."

I about burst into tears after the show in the dressing room as she walked in and told me how proud she was of me. That meant the world.

I also could not have had a show without the incredible talent of Michael Goodman, Sharon Knickerbocker, Zach Lentino, and Zack Darce. Michael gave me encouragement from Day 1 when I thought up the concept of the show and dropped it by him to see if it sounded ridiculous. He thought it was great and graciously offered to play. Sharon accompanied my audition to get the gig at Davenport's and had been excited every step of the way. Zach Lentino stepped in with his fantastic energy and beautiful upright bass in the midst of a busy school schedule.  Zack Darce learned the set list last minute to play in place of the drummer who 3 days before the show date discovered she couldn't do the show. 

Micheal Kott was also a giant help in filming the show!

"Go team!" just before we went on stage.

Rather exciting news: A VIP gave me very nice compliments regarding the show (and this genre is his specialty) and also gave me super helpful advice for future performances. He is keeping contact to help me out with furthering the Rita Rose show!

Taken by my lovely roommate, Denise, who also encouraged me every step of the way!

You can now like Rita Rose on Facebook at  www.facebook.com/RitaRoseShow  and follow her on twitter at www.twitter.com/RitaRoseShow to stay informed of upcoming events!

In the meantime, I have started rehearsals for Towle Theater's "A Fabulous Fifties Christmas" and am so thrilled to be a part! The theater is in Hammond, Indiana, and the show runs from November 30 until December 22. Visit www.TowleTheater.org for more information!