A Long Week

Goodness, it's been a long week. There was so much to do, and so little time to do it in. That's how I feel about this weekend too. I'm so glad the end of the year is coming so fast!

Katie Mac's foot was hurt too bad for me to consider performing my directing scene today. So I changed my performance date to May 1, which means that I'll be performing in a directing scene, and showing my finished scene. And Stevies (our 3rd year party) is that day as well--so it's going to be a busy day!

Let's see:
Actinv IV: we had a free day, so Acting Professor R brought out a camera and gave us some scenes and monologues to memorize in ten minutes and then we came and did an acting on camera workshop. It was difficult to curb all of our (now) natural stage habits, but it was really fun! I'm really interested in film, and I can't wait for the actual film acting class next year. We might get to watch our performances at the end of the year, but I don't think I'll be very impressed with mine. I'm failry certain my eyes were downcast the whole time.

Global Village: I turned in my rough draft and went over it with my TA. She was extremely helpful curbing my use of passive voice. She gave me a lot of great suggestions and cleared up some organizational issues, so now I juts have to rewrite some things and I'll have a nice paper to turn in on Monday.

Theatre History II: We read The Rimers of Eldritch for Friday. It's very reminiscent of Our Town and To Kill a Mockingbird. I really enjoyed it, and I would love to see it on stage. It was obvious in the script that the technical elements made the show.

Rehearsals this week were a little different. After Katie hurt her foot, we tried one walk through rehearsal, but she was in too much pain. The dynamic was really off too (but incredibly funny, oddly enough) so I knew I couldn't perform Saturday. We had our first rehearsal in the performance space, but we just worked with the lights and the set, because I didn't want Katie moving around if she didn't have to. I got my ending figured out, and I know where I want to place my pictures. I think it's going to look great! Then my Friday rehearsal was cancelled because my male actor had some errands he needed to run, and since we have an extra week to work on it, I gave them both the weekend off to solidify their lines.

I also had rehearsal for the new scene I'm in, and that's going well. I attended 2 of Gillian's rehearsals too, to help her make sure there were no sightline or blocking issues before today.

I havnen't managed to see the dance show yet. And it's looking like I won't have the chance. I was supposed to go on a bike ride today, but I didn't wake up feeling well. There's 2 senior voice recitals that I'd really like to attend today, but I'm supposed to be at the directing scenes (since I'm turning the lights on in Gillian's scene), and then I have rehearsal for Chrisena's scene afterwards. So I'm not sure what all I'll get to do today, but I definitely need to finish my paper!

There's Something to be Said for Tennis Shoes

In the past 2 days I've had a least 3 conversations with different faculty members and friends about tennis shoes and the reason we should wear them. I heard a pleasant story from Acting Professor L about a girl at our summer theatre one year who was wearing flip flops while coming off the stage, stepped incorrectly on the stairs, and broke both her ankles at once.

I also spoke with my friend Katie Mac about wearing tennis shoes, because her foot (which was hurt last summer, so she had to wear a boot for a few weeks) has been hurting. Of course, today was the day that we were performing in Acting class. So we're all expected to dress up and look the part. Tennis shoes don't go with dresses. So Katie Mac wore flats...and stepped wrong on the stairs...smacked her bad foot...and promptly went to the hospital because it rapidly swelled. Luckily, it's looking like it's not broken. However, she will be wearing a boot and trying to keep the pressure off it. She has crutches for now. Of course, she would be the busiest girl every: stage managing the main stage musical right now, and also the main actress in my directing scene. Hopefully her foot gets better within the next couple of weeks, because she's doing pre-season for the summer theatre!

I'm going to have to see how she fairs this week in rehearsal, and if it's no good then I'll be rescheduling my directing scene. They're in a really good place right now, so I'm completely comfortable doing so. I just hope she starts to feel better!

So, aside from Katie Mac and her scene partner who did not perform today, we all performed in Acting IV. We did a small rehearsal with notes from Acting Professor R. I was told to up the panic, and take out the 'logic'. When Erin and I performed, we did everything he asked. He gave us great notes at the end and was pleased. It was a fun scene to do. It was from Lady Windemere's Fan, and I was accusing my mother (who I think is my husband's new girl on the side) of stealing my husband from me and causing a scandal.

We also recieved our new scenes today. I'll be workig with Chrisena, who I worked with in Katie Mac's directing scene, on A Taste of Honey. I haven't had a chance to read the play yet, but I'm supposed to have it read by next Tuesday. I'm excited; it looks like it will be a very interesting scene.

The tentative season for next year went up today as well! Here it is, in order of appearance but subject to change:

Our Leading Lady by Charles Busch
Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote (This takes place in Texas!)
Meet Me in St. Louis
The Madwoman of Chaillot by Jean Giraudoux
The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl
Thouroughly Modern Millie

There's some great comedies in here, and some awesome dramas. I admit, I hadn't heard of many of these, and I had to look them up. But it looks like a really interesting season and I'm pretty excited about it!

I had my first rehearsal for Chrisena's directing scene Sealed for Freshness today. It was a read through and it looks like it's going to be really funny. We'll be performing that May 1st!

I spent the rest of my day writing and researching for my Global Village paper. I'm more than half way done, and I went ahead and wrote my conclusion since I'll be meeting with my TA tomorrow to go over it. It's looking pretty strong, but I'm sure there will be lots to fix before Monday when I turn it in. After I'm done with this paper I only have one more for my math class and then I'll be done with my major assignments for the semester! I can't wait! I'm so ready for it to be summer already.

Partly Productive

I finished most of my work this weekend. I didn't get much of a start on my Global Village paper, but I have a couple more days before my first draft is due.


I spent some quality time sleeping. We were having side walk construction this whole past week, and the schedule consisted of jack hammering beginning at 7 every morning. Luckily, I think I caught myself up.

I had a tour Saturday morning, so I didn't get to sleep in too much. I had 3 families and they were all very interested and asked great questions. I have so much fun meeting prospective students and answering their questions. I remember coming up here from Texas and wishing someone would answer all of my questions, and now I have the opportunity to do it for other people.

We had a meeting Saturday afternoon to talk about Stevies, which is the annual going away party for the 3rd years. The 2nd year class always puts together a tribute to the 3rd year class. I would write down the things we talked about, but it's a secret until after the show, in case any 3rd years are reading this!

I talked to Megan, my artist for my directing scene, today. We went over my picture ideas for my show, and I'm really excited. It's going to be a great show, I think. I also spent some time going over the script with my actor, Katie Mac. We discussed some of the more absurd aspects and came up with some ideas for how to approach them. I picked her costume out, so now I just have to talk to Dru and we'll be set.

The Warehouse Theatre had a field day today! It was a lot of fun. It was to celebrate the end of our season, since Some Girls closed last night. We played kickball and Frisbee. There was some food and music and it was fun to chill out and relax with friends. There was a play swap as well, to trade in plays that we didn't want for ones we did...but I forgot it was happening and I did not swap plays. Too bad.

I found out last minute that 3 of my classmates were performing their directing scenes today, so I attended those as well. They all did a really great job! The scripts (I can't remember all of them) were all really interesting.

I finished reading An American Daughter tonight. It's a very smart script with really interesting characters. I liked it a lot. Well,that concludes my homework. I'm off to sleep, and I hope I don't wake up to jackhammering.

A Long Weekend Ahead

I registered for my classes today and officially received all the ones I picked out for myself! That's good news.

We had a great discussion in Theatre History today over Oleanna and sexual harassment in today's society. There were so many differing opinions and it ended up taking the whole class up (usually we have a small history lesson on the playwright). There were many people who wanted to blame only Carol for the problems in the scripts. And then there were many of us that thought John held just as much blame. It's such an uncomfortable play to read simply because Mamet doesn't let you, as a reader, feel badly for Carol. But, as females and students, we feel uncomfortable not being able to sympathize with her character and the way she acts out. If you ever get the chance to read the play, it's an interesting study on relationships and power conflicts.

I had rehearsal for my directing scene today and we did our first run through. It's coming together so well. I really love the choices my actors are making and the fact that they're so willing to try new things. The characters are becoming increasingly dimensional and I can tell I'll be so proud of them next week when they perform.

I had an awesome time in my Global Village tutorial today. We split into groups and proposed policies to bring an end to the peak oil crisis. There was one group in favor of supporting the economy of the US above all else. Then there was another group that supported sustainable development, but not at the expense of the environment. My group was in support of going green and providing tax credits to corporations willing to go green and use alternative energy sources, all while researching new technologies and alternative sources of fuels. It was fun to debate because everyone has such great ideas for how to accomplish things. We compromised on some issues but we ran out of time before we could pass any policies.

I went to talk-back for Some Girls tonight and listened to the company talk about their process. It was interesting, knowing that their male actor changed a week before the show. My favorite anecdote was when the director admitted to creating a scheme to integrate into the show. The play is about a man who revisits his old girlfriends to clear his conscience. So the director had the actor take out each of the girls on a date to get to know them (because he didn't go to our school and didn't know the girls at all) but she told him to create a secret handshake with each of them, and they would put it into the show. So, unbeknownst to the girls, he used the same handshake with each of them. And when they all came together for the first run through and witnessed that he had 'played' them, much the way that the character in the show played each of the individual girls, it really became realistic! I thought it was very clever, and a great story.

I have a lot of homework to do this weekend. But I'm really planning on focusing on figuring out the background action of my directing scene. I talked Megan into drawing all of my pictures that I'd like to use as references in my show, I just need to figure out what exactly I'd like to accomplish with them. I'll be giving a tour tomorrow morning as well, and that's always fun to talk to prospectives. It's going to be a weekend of no free time, but hopefully it will be productive!

Cast

The cast list went up yesterday for our summer stock theatre.

I will be playing Ruth in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds which is the part I desperately wanted but didn't read for. And Becca in Rabbit Hole which was a part I never thought I'd get but I couldn't be happier to receive. These are two amazing characters that will be a real challenge to portray and I'm so excited that I get the opportunity to do so. I'll be working with some really amazing actors, actresses, guest artists, and directors this summer. It's going to be absolutely amazing.

I'm also cast in a children's show at the professional children's theatre. It's called East of the Sun but I have absolutely no idea what it's about or what role I'll be playing. However, it gives me the chance to work with a guest director and some really cool people. I adore working with children and this will be a really awesome opportunity. I never planned it, but it seems that my resume for working in children's theatre has been building steadily for the last 4 years or so. With any luck, I'll have some more opportunities in this field in the future.

I realize that I classify a lot of my college experiences as 'awesome opportunities'. In reality, yes they are great opportunities, but they're also just a ton of fun. I couldn't love what I'm doing here anymore than I do. I have so much fun acting, and I have no doubt that I chose the right major for me and the right career to start off in. Acting makes me feel so alive and free. And the people here have such a passion for what they do that it makes everyday an amazing day. I'm so lucky to be in a place that is giving me the education that I need, making me prepared for what I love, and helping me to love it more everyday I'm here. So when I say 'opportunity' I mean couldn't-be-happier-to-try-this-new-experience-because-I-love-what-I-do.

The cast list for the summer is really great. Everyone received multiple roles and everyone fits the parts they received. I'm so excited to work with everyone and watch all of the productions. 13 shows in 10 weeks, and they look like they're going to be some of the best shows I've seen yet! Everyone seems really happy with the outcome of their auditions and I'm glad because everyone really did a great job last Saturday. It's going to be a great experience!

I signed up to usher for Some Girls tonight. I saw the show last night on opening night and it was really great. The set, designed by a first year, is phenomenal. It looks really amazing and I can't believe it's her first design. The first year class has a lot of really talented technicians in their class and it's going to make their years at school really great.

The acting in the show was so much fun to watch. All the characters are so different. It was definitely a lot funnier to see in person than it was to read the script, and I really enjoyed it! Great job to the director, cast, and crew!

I have Acting IV today, but our performance space is being taken over by another group. So today, we'll be watching Being Julia, and we'll perform our scenes on Tuesday instead.

It seems like the season for next year's mainstage shows should be going up soon. I'm interested to see what I can expect in my last year of college. It's going to be a fantastic year with my classes and I'm really excited about it. I'm sure I won't ever be as busy as I will be next semester, but I'm looking forward to it!

Advising Day

My official schedule for the fall of 2010 is:

Performance Technique (a musical theatre course)
Senior Acting Seminar
Advanced Acting 1
Advanced Acting 2
Shakespeare
Private Voice
Global Ethics

GE will be my last core class of college. Everything besides that course is a theatre related course, so it's going to be a fun-filled, most likely incredibly hectic semester. However, I can't even contemplate that when I have such a busy summer ahead of me.

I had another rehearsal for my directing scene today. We blocked about 1/3 of the show, so it's well on it's way to looking great. I'm very proud of my actors; I can tell it's going to be an awesome show with them on board.

GLEE was on tonight! I had forgotten how refreshing it is to watch a show that makes fun of itself so much. I love it! But really I'm hooked on it because of the actors. So many of them are from Broadway.

Anyway, I just wanted to post my schedule. I'm off to finish some homework.

An Excess of Condiments

So this week is a week where there's a lot of important things happening. Some little and some not so little.

The new Warehouse Board and the current Warehouse Board got together last night and officially picked the season for next year. Our Chair Woman took it to the Dean to have it approved. All of our selections were officially approved, but they asked us to reconsider one of the plays because of some issues they think might arise with it. So that means, until the decisions are final (we had a re vote and I don't know the outcome) I can't actually say anything in my blog. However, I'm incredibly excited about our season, and the replacement play--if it goes through-- is just as cool as the one we chose. So either way, it's going to be a fun season and I'm proud to be a part of it!

I also got to hang out with the current Public Relations person last night and that was super cool! She showed me how she goes about the making of programs for the shows. I didn't realize it, but it will actually be my job (unless I choose to elect someone else to do it) to make the posters for the shows as well! Very cool...and difficult, so we'll see what happens there. We talked a lot about obtaining sponsorships and what all her job entails and I'm even more excited to get my turn next year! It's going to be a lot of fun and a really great experience to be able to use in the future. I can't wait!

We had to read Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf this weekend for a quiz and discussion in Theatre History. It's a very interesting production, and I would understand it a lot better (it's an absurdist piece) if I actually saw it. Apparently, the acting in the movie is amazing, so I might check that out sometime when I have free time. I just finished reading Oleanna for Friday's class, and I can honestly say it made me sick. It's a play about a professor and a student and she accuses him of sexual harassment. It's sickening because you can't tell who is right and who is wrong and you want to hate both characters for hurting the other so much...except they both present great arguments. It reminds me of how relationships go bad because of miscommunication. You can both be right and both be wrong and the anger because of it, and the unwillingness to forgive or compromise ruins it all. So..it was brilliant writing but it wasn't pleasant at all.

I had my first rehearsal for my directing scene Ashes to Ashes today. Both of my actors have really great ideas about their characters, and it's going to be a really fun collaboration. The play is going to end up being a crazy/creepy/absurd piece and I'm excited about doing something so new and outrageous. It looks like it's going to be a great learning process!

Tomorrow is advising day so I'll be picking my official schedule of classes for my final year of college! AH! That's so crazy to even say. I'm not entirely happy with the way it turned out, but I'll deal with it. I might be able to work some things out tomorrow, but I'll definitely post my finalized schedule here.

For some non-theatre related subjects (crazy I know): I'll hopefully be finishing a rough draft of both my Global Village research paper and my Personal Family Finance research paper so I can get them both critiqued in time to make a good final draft. We actually started a new section in Global Village pertaining to economic globalization and it seems like it's going to be very interesting. Aside from this research paper, I have definitely enjoyed this class this semester.

The Warehouse (back to theatre, I can't help myself) is actually co-hosting an event that is supporting the Trama Textiles group that I talked about previously. There's going to be a dance and I think the proceeds are going to help the Guatemalan women. So that's really awesome as well.

And of course, the summer season should be decided by Wednesday. I almost don't want to know. But I think I've finally come out of the theatre student mindset of 'what I'm cast as is a reflection of my talent and future ability to be gainfully employed' and moved onto the more mature, and healthy, mindset of 'my abilities as an actress are not decided by the casting of a college show, and I will continue to grow beyond this campus and can only be helped by the opportunities I am given here'. I know, it's sickeningly good of me, but what can I say--my glass is half full.

Boji Audition Day Complete

I went back and put pictures up in the posts about Chicago and my Birthday, if you're interested in going back and looking at them!

I had a blast yesterday auditioning for 13 shows!

Technically, there's 9 mainstage shows, and then 4 children's shows that they don't let you read from. They just cast the children's shows based on the other auditions.

So the day started out with headshots and then moved onto warm-up with Acting Professor L. We did some Alexander Technique (body alignment technique that straightens your spine and allows your head to float freely off the top of your neck without tension) and some tremors (where you hold any part of you body in the same position until it starts to tremor--thereby opening up your diaphramatic (or deep) breathing, which builds an open channel for better sound to come out). I learned both of these my first year here, and it's a standard warm-up before every audition, but we're expected to do them on our own. This time we did them as a group. We also warmed up our voices with Voice Professor C, who would be our accompanist for our musical auditions.

We moved straight into the musical auditions after that. I was nervous about them, but I walked in, remembered the names of both songs like a good girl, and then I performed them. It went well! I was proud that I went in there and did what I meant to do without forgetting any lyrics! I did not make callbacks, but they were only calling back for some of the major characters, and I did not expect to be one of those. Gillian did make a callback and she said it went great! I'm proud of her too!

We came back from lunch and started our cold readings. I was sent to Acting Professor D's readings first. He was holding the farce cold readings and I picked the character I liked the most and grabbed my scene partner and we did our rendition. He gave some critiques and then we performed it again. After that I moved right onto Acting Professor B's cold readings. I read for Beatrice, Rhoda, and Madrigal. I had a fun time doing each of the different characters.

The awesome thing was: everyone stepped up their game for these auditions. My whole second year class did an amazing job! We were all reading the same sides and everyone understood the characters and gave great auditions. It's certainly going to be a hard season to cast. I felt comfortable with the performances I gave, but so many other people did such a great job that it's impossible to walk away saying,"yeah I really nailed that one, it'll be me."

After those three auditions, it was time for my Rabbit Hole audition. I was the last group to go in, so we didn't get to work on as much as the other groups. I read for Becca and it was ok. I didn't walk out feeling I had done amazing, but I did walk out thinking it had been a great day.

I really expected the auditions to be more in depth. I realize now, I shouldn't have expected that because there were so many people, and such a limited amount of time to see us all. It makes perfect sense that they would try and see us all multiple times instead of focusing on certain characters and certain shows. There were a couple characters I was really hoping to read for that I didn't get the chance to read for, and I was slightly dissapointed, but today it makes more sense. The outcome is really going to depend on who they want in the musicals because they cast those first.

I'll find out the results on Wednesday. All in all, it was a crazy, but awesome day and I had a blast!

Afterwards, my friends and I went out for sushi to celebrate! We tried the new place downtown called Geisha, and it was very tasty. Then we went to grab some icecream and came back home to watch a movie.