3 rehearsals today and 3 tomorrow as well. I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. By now I can't even imagine having 4 weeks to complete a show. We were supposed to have 2 weeks to rehearse East of the Sun and now I can't even imagine having more than the week that we have.
Rehearsals have been going well. We'll be off book by tomorrow but we're basically off book anyway. We'll be starting our straight run throughs today. Yesterday we tried a run through with costumes, but the Bantam theatre was so unbelievably hot that plus the layers of costume that we had, we were sweating buckets. Director A let us go. David Bowie is almost complete, the icicles are almost ready to be hung. All set pieces have snow on them now, which was fun, and the hag stands are currently the best looking stands ever made! Seriously, they're everyone's favorite pieces. I'll get pictures soon!
I even got to do some sewing today for David Bowie's clothes. I taped out the section of the bleachers (The Bantam theatre used to be an outdoors theatre, and the original seating is still in place, so yes--we have bleachers) the some of the actors need to use so our audience doesn't sit there. I also swept underneath the bleachers. It was gross.
I've been putting the theatre company's YMCA membership to good use and have been excercising with Kaitie every morning...for 2 days now. They have a very nice facility, and it's only 2 minutes away. Occasionally I even get time to watch some World Cup these days! Whenever we have rehearsal breaks, a couple of us usually run for the TV to see what game is on and we try to catch up on the highlights. I saw some of the US game today, it was looking really grim when I left, but I was excited to discover they evened out the score with Slovenia to 2-2!! I'll definitely have to find and watch the rest of that game.
I've got rehearsal to get to!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
David Bowie
David Bowie is our troll puppet for East of the Sun. He's a great looking troll, very similar to a Hun from Mulan. I made his beard today, and it's pretty cool. I'll take a picture and post it sometime.
Rehearsals have been going really well. We worked shop yesterday morning and this morning, and we're almost finished with everything! We just have to hang our icicles because the play takes place in the arctic. Yesterday we started blocking and got half way through Act II. It was a little rough because I hadn't completely decided on my character voices and physicality yet, but it was coming along. Today we finished up the play and I'm pretty set on my characters. We're going to start our 'intense work-throughs' as our Stage manager Laura calls them. We ended rehearsal today by working the first part of scene 1 multiple times, and it still isn't done. We have so much time, I think we'll be incredibly prepared for Wednesday. It's hard to believe that people can take so much time to put up shows when you don't really need that much time.
Then again, at school we have rehearsal from 3:30-5:30 and then 7-10. Here we have rehearsal from 10-1, 2-6, and then 7-9 or 10. So...I suppose it's just more in one day. And it's incredibly exhausting. We get one ten minute break in the morning and evening shift and sometimes 2 in the afternoon shift, usually just 1. It's fun, but it's also eye opening. Theatre isn't a hobby or a degree here, it's a job and it's pretty fun to finally get to treat it like a career choice. Everyone here is really serious about there work. We're all almost off book already (memorized).
We got out a little early last night, at 9 and so Katie Mac and I went out exploring Boji/Spirit Lake. We road our bikes to the YMCA, and then we came back and took a drive around town. There really isn't much around except antique malls. But Katie found a quilt shop she wants to visit. I think we're going to have to go back towards Spencer to find anything to do, which they told us we would. So that's our next adventure coming up! We also went out to Betsy (a nearby firepit that we have free reign over because the next door art center 'accidently' built it and their parking lot on our property) last night with the whole class. It was fun to finally have some time to breathe. It's been so non-stop. It's easier to get stressed out here than I thought it would be if you don't make time for yourself.
Tonight is Sausage and Hotdog night, and we had meatloaf for lunch. Things are going pretty well. I'll feel even better when I sleep!
Rehearsals have been going really well. We worked shop yesterday morning and this morning, and we're almost finished with everything! We just have to hang our icicles because the play takes place in the arctic. Yesterday we started blocking and got half way through Act II. It was a little rough because I hadn't completely decided on my character voices and physicality yet, but it was coming along. Today we finished up the play and I'm pretty set on my characters. We're going to start our 'intense work-throughs' as our Stage manager Laura calls them. We ended rehearsal today by working the first part of scene 1 multiple times, and it still isn't done. We have so much time, I think we'll be incredibly prepared for Wednesday. It's hard to believe that people can take so much time to put up shows when you don't really need that much time.
Then again, at school we have rehearsal from 3:30-5:30 and then 7-10. Here we have rehearsal from 10-1, 2-6, and then 7-9 or 10. So...I suppose it's just more in one day. And it's incredibly exhausting. We get one ten minute break in the morning and evening shift and sometimes 2 in the afternoon shift, usually just 1. It's fun, but it's also eye opening. Theatre isn't a hobby or a degree here, it's a job and it's pretty fun to finally get to treat it like a career choice. Everyone here is really serious about there work. We're all almost off book already (memorized).
We got out a little early last night, at 9 and so Katie Mac and I went out exploring Boji/Spirit Lake. We road our bikes to the YMCA, and then we came back and took a drive around town. There really isn't much around except antique malls. But Katie found a quilt shop she wants to visit. I think we're going to have to go back towards Spencer to find anything to do, which they told us we would. So that's our next adventure coming up! We also went out to Betsy (a nearby firepit that we have free reign over because the next door art center 'accidently' built it and their parking lot on our property) last night with the whole class. It was fun to finally have some time to breathe. It's been so non-stop. It's easier to get stressed out here than I thought it would be if you don't make time for yourself.
Tonight is Sausage and Hotdog night, and we had meatloaf for lunch. Things are going pretty well. I'll feel even better when I sleep!
Monday, June 14, 2010
1st Day of Rehearsal
I blogged earlier today, but I felt the need to write about my first real day at Boji.
Breakfast was at 8:30 like always, and then rehearsal started at 10 am. We spent our morning rehearsal building our set, since we don't have a shop crew assigned to the Bantam theatre we're responsible for getting everything done in time to open on Tuesday. Since it's also the first Bantam show of the season, we had a couple extra jobs to get done, such as making a new sign to put out front.
I spent the morning using the jigsaw to make small, medium, and large icecicles that will hang from the ceiling and frame the stage. Alex did most of the dirty work, putting our set pieces on casters, so we can wheel them on and off stage easily. Afternoon rehearsal was a read through, character discussion, and then we put it on its feet, but we gave the play our own blocking. Director A really wanted to see our physicality and the way we thought we might move. She also gave us characters from movies that she wants us to base our characters off of. Bartok from Anastasia was my main one, though I'm also supposed to watch the movie Labrynth.
Night rehearsal was semi-cancelled because the designers for the mainstage show aren't all here, so the shops were having a hard time being productive. So all night shops were cancelled and we were encouraged to not rehearse. However, we decided to have fun and watch some of the movies that Director A referred us too. We watched Anastasia for me and The Princess and the Frog for Nicole. We talked over some of the character expectations for us. I'm going to work on taking Bartok's vocal awkwardness and unassuming nature plus his hunched stature. Director A really wants him to be the most likeable character. We have to be careful not to get low energy ever becuase the pace of the show is like banter, and if we slow down we'll lose the audience. The next week should be a lot of fun developing the show!
Breakfast was at 8:30 like always, and then rehearsal started at 10 am. We spent our morning rehearsal building our set, since we don't have a shop crew assigned to the Bantam theatre we're responsible for getting everything done in time to open on Tuesday. Since it's also the first Bantam show of the season, we had a couple extra jobs to get done, such as making a new sign to put out front.
I spent the morning using the jigsaw to make small, medium, and large icecicles that will hang from the ceiling and frame the stage. Alex did most of the dirty work, putting our set pieces on casters, so we can wheel them on and off stage easily. Afternoon rehearsal was a read through, character discussion, and then we put it on its feet, but we gave the play our own blocking. Director A really wanted to see our physicality and the way we thought we might move. She also gave us characters from movies that she wants us to base our characters off of. Bartok from Anastasia was my main one, though I'm also supposed to watch the movie Labrynth.
Night rehearsal was semi-cancelled because the designers for the mainstage show aren't all here, so the shops were having a hard time being productive. So all night shops were cancelled and we were encouraged to not rehearse. However, we decided to have fun and watch some of the movies that Director A referred us too. We watched Anastasia for me and The Princess and the Frog for Nicole. We talked over some of the character expectations for us. I'm going to work on taking Bartok's vocal awkwardness and unassuming nature plus his hunched stature. Director A really wants him to be the most likeable character. We have to be careful not to get low energy ever becuase the pace of the show is like banter, and if we slow down we'll lose the audience. The next week should be a lot of fun developing the show!
Okoboji Begins
After a 13 hour drive to school and then a 9 hour drive to Boji on Friday with Gillian and Lauren, we unpacked our bags and settled in to the dorm. It's beautiful here. We have a small lot housing cabins, trailers,houses, our dorm and two theatres. There's a volley ball pit in the back and I played with the pre-season and staff on Friday night. We had a meeting with the company Friday night welcoming us to Boji and explaining some things about the lot, the dorms, and the ground rules.
There are 3 meals a day at specific times: 8:30, 1:00, and 6:00. The entire company and staff line up in the green room and you have 20 minutes to pick your food and eat it from the small table in the kitchen. It's some of the best food I've ever eaten. It all tastes amazing! Our chef is extremely talented and I can tell already I'll miss the food when I leave. After 20 minutes all of the food is taken away and you're expected to move onto your next job. They do it this way because one of the crews we're all assigned to is clean-up crew. So we have to have time to clean up the kitchen and wash the dishes and put away all the food before rehearsals and shop starts at 10 every morning. It took a little getting used to, but it's kind of nice. We aren't allowed to waste any food, because the budget is so tight (lets face it, it's summer theatre, there isn't one with a good budget out there)so you get smaller portions to make sure you don't waste anything and you don't usually go back for more because there isn't much time.
All of the staff have their own housing (some of them have their own houses on the lot). And the young staff also has their own separate housing. The next renovation for the lot (they redid the theatre a couple years ago) is redoing the student dorms. It will be nice, but I have to say it will be sad. These have been around since the beginning and it's kind of cool to be a part of the history, even if that includes splitting two showers between 20 girls.
Saturday morning everyone cast in a children's show (Bantam, as I'll refer to it) had auditions to be placed as specific characters. My Bantam show is East of the Sun and I auditioned for Poppa, Hob, and Snowdrop. I got cast as Hob(the non-human assistant of the Ice Witch), Brill (an old hag), and a sister who gets to use puppets. Our Bantam director A is getting her MFA in Directing Youth Theatre and she has a thing for making puppets. I'm extremely excited about getting to use puppets in her show. All of the shows have puppets and it's looking like Fantastic Mr. Fox will be the coolest with full size puppets that stand on the actors legs! I actually start rehearsal today for East of the Sun, all day. Everyone else (not in the mainstage Fantasticks) has shop to hurry and build the set for the mainstage show by Tuesday when it opens. Gotta love doing 13 shows in 10 weeks!
After auditions we had orientation all day. We got a tour of the lot including staff housing, lights/sound, theatre, hog house(secondary rehearsal space, was a hog house at one point but that building was torn down, and this replaced it), costume shop, prop barn, box office, Public Relations, and scene shop. There was a history lesson about the Okoboji Theatre (we're now in our 53rd season, performing in what used to be an airplane hangar) and about many of the buildings. The theatre had a recent remodel a couple of years ago which gave us a new rehearsal hall, and a nice tunnel to store things in.
From what we were told this theatre used to be an airplane hangar, surrounded by a lot of farm land. A college in Des Moines (Grinell) decided to purchase the hangar in 1953 when the regional airport moved to a new location. The theatre company used it for a year or 2 but without much success. However, the city of Okoboji loved the idea of having a summer theatre so much that when Grinell wanted to give up the building, they looked for a new buyer who wanted to continue the theatre. Bill West heard about it from a friend and decided it would be the perfect thing to help expand my college's theatre department. So in 1957 the Okoboji Summer Theatre Association, after repeatedly trying to sell the theatre to my college (who didn't want all the acres that came along with it and refused to purchase it even when the association lowered the acreage), raised the money to buy the theatre themsevles and then gave it to my school as a gift. So Since 1957, the Okoboji Summer Theatre has been up and running, producing 13 shows in 10 weeks every summer.
They say after just one show the people of the town will recognize us and give us their opinions on our performances. The box office opens today and there is already a line of senior citizens in their patio chairs lined up under the awning! This summer will be one amazing experience.
We had a large bonfire (something that will happen a lot while I'm here, and they say sometimes the community thinks it's ok to join us...) on Saturday night. They brought out some great lighting and sound equipment to the slab (our make shift concrete dance floor in the middle of a grassy field that is actually used to paint the flats and floors for every show) and we danced for a couple of hours and mingled with the staff.
Sunday we still had a little bit of orientation to finish up and then we had lunch and an hour before the Tech Olympics. This is a Boji tradition to kick off the season. The staff runs a torch around the lot (or in Prof L's case, they get to ride on the back of a truck :) ) and then the games begin. I was on overload from everything we had learned in orientation, and they had handed out study sheets but not much more could fit inside my head. While perusing a Chinese menu my team decided that we would be called the Assorted Meats! So I was Duck, and the we had Polar Bear, Pork, Beef, and Tofu. We split up to compete against the members of other teams by running around the lot. We had to do a timed test in each area: scene shop (we had to build a screw box, I wasn't very good at it), costume shop (we took a quiz and sewed on a label), prop barn (we solved riddles and found props to match them), lights and sound (we hung a light, striked a light, and put together a headset), box office (we filled out a long card to reserve a seat, I did it wrong), and then a break. We next went to the Bantam theatre and played Public Relations Jeopardy, which I thought my team did amazing on, but we still didn't win. I also broke both of my buzzing noise makers before the game was through. It was a lot of fun, but a little stressful.
Then we played team volley ball! Unfortunately my team was not so well versed in the technique of hitting a ball over a net so we were soon watching from the side lines as another team won.
All in all it was a fun day, but a little bit too much of a competition. I was ready to move onto rehearsal. Orientation has been so full of information that I was having a hard time enjoying myself yet. But the Tony party we had was really fun, and now I'm ready to move onto rehearsal! I have rehearsal morning, afternoon and evening. The next mainstage show starts rehearsal Wednesday and they still have night shop, so I suppose that's more like what my schedule will be like once I'm done with this children's show. Actually, I'll be in shop all day for a week or two first before my next show starts. But I'm opening on next Wednesday and there's a lot of fun to be had before then! I'm off to rehearsal!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Successes of the Semester
1. I finished the semester!!!
2. I have been cast in 3 amazing Okoboji shows, 1 being my dream role for the summer.
3. I feel as if I've improved more in this semester than I had perhaps in the entirety of last year.
4. I made it home safely after a 13 hour drive.
5. I completed all of my finals in time to make it back for my brother's college graduation.
6. I SUCCESSFULLY KEPT UP WITH MY BLOG. I can officially look back and use this as a learning tool. And of course, it helped my family keep up with me.
I took 4 finals Monday. I went first for my Voice Jury. I sang well, had horrible posture, and never made it quite on time with my accompanist. Many things can be learned from that sentence.
I wrote a reasonably coherent Global Village final answering the question: Do you think that the international community will be able to meet with the major challenges that confront humanity today successfully? Why or why not? Discuss three of the following: global pandemics; poverty; climate change; peak oil and genocide. Hopefully that went as well as I imagined, but oftentimes the opposite is the case. You think you do bad and you do well, you think you do well and you do badly.
My Acting IV final consisted of watching the movie Wilde about Oscar Wilde's life. It was a really great movie. But an extremely sad story. Ah well, so it the story of most artists. Especially in that period.
My Personal Family Finance final was a bit harder than expected, but I think I scraped by. Hopefully.
I'm happy it's done! I think I also forgot to mention attending the performance of HMS Pinafore last Friday night. It was a great show, with amazing energy. It was slapstick comedy, and circling blocking. The set was awesome, as you can see.
I really enjoyed watching all the seniors in their last performance. I also attended the P-Tech final, where many other seniors (and 2nd years) performed. It was a really great show, as well. There are people with beautiful voices that I had no idea could sing that well.
Anyway, I'm going to take a small break from this blog until I get to Boji. I have a summer break to enjoy, after all!
Farewell, and thanks for being interested. I'll be back Mid June with more of my theatre experiences!
2. I have been cast in 3 amazing Okoboji shows, 1 being my dream role for the summer.
3. I feel as if I've improved more in this semester than I had perhaps in the entirety of last year.
4. I made it home safely after a 13 hour drive.
5. I completed all of my finals in time to make it back for my brother's college graduation.
6. I SUCCESSFULLY KEPT UP WITH MY BLOG. I can officially look back and use this as a learning tool. And of course, it helped my family keep up with me.
I took 4 finals Monday. I went first for my Voice Jury. I sang well, had horrible posture, and never made it quite on time with my accompanist. Many things can be learned from that sentence.
I wrote a reasonably coherent Global Village final answering the question: Do you think that the international community will be able to meet with the major challenges that confront humanity today successfully? Why or why not? Discuss three of the following: global pandemics; poverty; climate change; peak oil and genocide. Hopefully that went as well as I imagined, but oftentimes the opposite is the case. You think you do bad and you do well, you think you do well and you do badly.
My Acting IV final consisted of watching the movie Wilde about Oscar Wilde's life. It was a really great movie. But an extremely sad story. Ah well, so it the story of most artists. Especially in that period.
My Personal Family Finance final was a bit harder than expected, but I think I scraped by. Hopefully.
I'm happy it's done! I think I also forgot to mention attending the performance of HMS Pinafore last Friday night. It was a great show, with amazing energy. It was slapstick comedy, and circling blocking. The set was awesome, as you can see.
I really enjoyed watching all the seniors in their last performance. I also attended the P-Tech final, where many other seniors (and 2nd years) performed. It was a really great show, as well. There are people with beautiful voices that I had no idea could sing that well.
Anyway, I'm going to take a small break from this blog until I get to Boji. I have a summer break to enjoy, after all!
Farewell, and thanks for being interested. I'll be back Mid June with more of my theatre experiences!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
One More Day
It's been a pretty hectic couple of days and I didn't have time to update. But here's the scoop:
Thursday:
Acting IV: My final went really well. Everyone did a great job and we got individual notes from Professor R. He told me and Chrisena that our dialect was spot on and he could understand all our consonants. He loved the dynamic between our characters and he said the pace was where it needed to be. He told me to be careful about throwing lines away. He said even if lines are meant to be thrown away an actor can't say them in that manner, they have to have meaning and the audience needs to experience them. He's very right! I had a couple lines that I was saying more to myself, and they needed more emphasis.
Friday:
Theatre History II: The final was comparing and contrasting the family relationships in ALL the scripts we read this side of mid-terms. It was kind of cool. We had to name all the authors and character names in our descriptions or they didn't count. I named about six, but I couldn't tie anymore in with where I was heading so I finished my paper there. It was an interesting test to say the least.
GV: We talked over the different issues we've been covering in class and prepared for the final. The question is so wide spread that it's going to take a while to answer it. That's coming up tomorrow, and I'll be ready.
We didn't get to hunt for sponsors much near the end of the week because of bad weather and timing issues. Since this weekend was Mother's Day that was a bad bet too. So we need to finish up in the beginning of this week so we have people to contact while we're at Boji.
Saturday:
Warehouse Cleanup! Some of the new and old board got together to clean and organize the Warehouse and Arena for the first year Summer Theatre Institute. Last year at my STI we had to clean it ourselves, so they're getting out easy. But that just gives them more time to work on the things that really matter. They have their first show cast for their summer session and they're going to have a blast! I'm so excited to come back next year and work with them. Our summer sessions here really change your outlook on theatre and acting, and you grow so much as an artist. Plus these are the times when the whole class really bonds together. They're going to learn so much and so is my class!
Some of the New Board members got together after the clean up and we went out to eat and then to a place called Bonkers! It's just a grown-up version of Chuck E. Cheese, so anyone about 19 gets in for 1 dollar. We spent the afternoon climbing and crawling and sliding around in the play area. Then we played arcade games. We got matching rings for all the board members. I can tell this next year is going to be great!
We were supposed to have a lock-in afterwards, but Kaitie locked her keys in her car. So she and I made an impromptu trip to her house and back again. I got back really late but I went over anyway. It was a blast!
Sunday:
Today I packed up my room! It's basically finished. I need to take my things over to the storage unit and then I can pack up my car with all the things that are coming home with me. I have a really busy day tomorrow.
Voice Jury (Which is where I sing all the songs I learned this semester in my Voice class for the music faculty and they give helpful notes towards my improvement) at 10:06. Global Village at 12:30-2:30. Acting IV (we're watching a movie about Oscar Wilde since we already performed) from 2:45-4:45. And then Personal Family Finance from 4-6, so I'll show up late. P-Tech Final (which I'm watching because my friends are performing) is at 7:30-9ish and then Midnight Breakfast starts at 10:45, which I need to attend to obtain leadership points so I can get my scholarship for the semester. Whew!
Tomorrow is Ian's birthday, so I got everything in order so that I can leave Tuesday morning to get home. He graduates Friday and I'm missing the Boji Truck Load to go see it! So Hopefully after tomorrow I will be a lot less stressed, ready to head home, and no doubt excited to come back and be at BOJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday:
Acting IV: My final went really well. Everyone did a great job and we got individual notes from Professor R. He told me and Chrisena that our dialect was spot on and he could understand all our consonants. He loved the dynamic between our characters and he said the pace was where it needed to be. He told me to be careful about throwing lines away. He said even if lines are meant to be thrown away an actor can't say them in that manner, they have to have meaning and the audience needs to experience them. He's very right! I had a couple lines that I was saying more to myself, and they needed more emphasis.
Friday:
Theatre History II: The final was comparing and contrasting the family relationships in ALL the scripts we read this side of mid-terms. It was kind of cool. We had to name all the authors and character names in our descriptions or they didn't count. I named about six, but I couldn't tie anymore in with where I was heading so I finished my paper there. It was an interesting test to say the least.
GV: We talked over the different issues we've been covering in class and prepared for the final. The question is so wide spread that it's going to take a while to answer it. That's coming up tomorrow, and I'll be ready.
We didn't get to hunt for sponsors much near the end of the week because of bad weather and timing issues. Since this weekend was Mother's Day that was a bad bet too. So we need to finish up in the beginning of this week so we have people to contact while we're at Boji.
Saturday:
Warehouse Cleanup! Some of the new and old board got together to clean and organize the Warehouse and Arena for the first year Summer Theatre Institute. Last year at my STI we had to clean it ourselves, so they're getting out easy. But that just gives them more time to work on the things that really matter. They have their first show cast for their summer session and they're going to have a blast! I'm so excited to come back next year and work with them. Our summer sessions here really change your outlook on theatre and acting, and you grow so much as an artist. Plus these are the times when the whole class really bonds together. They're going to learn so much and so is my class!
Some of the New Board members got together after the clean up and we went out to eat and then to a place called Bonkers! It's just a grown-up version of Chuck E. Cheese, so anyone about 19 gets in for 1 dollar. We spent the afternoon climbing and crawling and sliding around in the play area. Then we played arcade games. We got matching rings for all the board members. I can tell this next year is going to be great!
We were supposed to have a lock-in afterwards, but Kaitie locked her keys in her car. So she and I made an impromptu trip to her house and back again. I got back really late but I went over anyway. It was a blast!
Sunday:
Today I packed up my room! It's basically finished. I need to take my things over to the storage unit and then I can pack up my car with all the things that are coming home with me. I have a really busy day tomorrow.
Voice Jury (Which is where I sing all the songs I learned this semester in my Voice class for the music faculty and they give helpful notes towards my improvement) at 10:06. Global Village at 12:30-2:30. Acting IV (we're watching a movie about Oscar Wilde since we already performed) from 2:45-4:45. And then Personal Family Finance from 4-6, so I'll show up late. P-Tech Final (which I'm watching because my friends are performing) is at 7:30-9ish and then Midnight Breakfast starts at 10:45, which I need to attend to obtain leadership points so I can get my scholarship for the semester. Whew!
Tomorrow is Ian's birthday, so I got everything in order so that I can leave Tuesday morning to get home. He graduates Friday and I'm missing the Boji Truck Load to go see it! So Hopefully after tomorrow I will be a lot less stressed, ready to head home, and no doubt excited to come back and be at BOJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Almost There
What a week. It was going by so slow and now it's going by so fast!
We went out looking for sponsors this week, and we're done with the downtown area minus restaurants. That's great progress. We have a lot of interested people, and some places are thinking of loaning costumes! So we took the morning off today, because we needed a morning to sleep in.
We had a paper for Keely and Du and a quiz in Theatre History II on Monday. And Wednesday we had a quiz over The Clean House. I was excited to read that because it's in our main stage season for next year. It's a really good play and I'm excited to see how they put it together in the Warehouse space, since it's so much smaller. One main stage show a year is put on in the Warehouse, and next year The Clean House is that show. We're having our exam on Friday, covering all the plays we've read this side of Mid-Terms.
Tuesday I had Acting IV, and we did a dress rehearsal for our A Taste of Honey scene. It went really well. Chrisena and I received some small notes about keeping up the pace and our dialect. This is a lower class dialect, but not quite cockney, so we haven't covered it in class. Apparently, we were doing it too naturally. So we need to pull it back, and make it more stage appropriate. We reblocked some of the scene to give the characters a closer relationship. I'm really excited to perform today; I think it's going to go great. Every one's scenes sound really interesting and I can't wait to watch them.
We had the last Warehouse Company meeting last night. The Old Board handed out some awards for accomplishments during the season. Kaitie and I received the Dynamic Duo award, for attending every event together. It's so true! We were beginning to wonder if anyone else noticed how attached at the hip we are. Our schedules are the same, and we're room mates so there's really no escaping it. Betsy (the Chairwoman) made a joke saying we even had them change the time of the Field Day so we could show up together. We feel very honored.
The rest of the awards were for senior board members. All in all, the accomplishments that the board has made this year are amazing. They've come so far from last year and done so much more. I can only hope that our board stays that active next year. I think we're off to a really great start.
Last night was also the last Open Mic Night of the year. This means people can sign up to perform something of their own choosing. So a lot of seniors signed up and it was really fun to watch. Three seniors did Zac Efron's dance in High School Musical 2 "Bet on it"--hilarious. Then a bunch of the senior girls did a song acapella. We had a reading of poetry, a couple amazing spoken words, 3 songs, and a couple speeches. It turned into another sort of going away party, and I had a lot of fun. Everyone did a great job. I love Open Mic Nights because that's when so many of the students get to showcase their true talents. It's not about an audition or class work, it's about what people feel and what they want to share. And that's what I think art is.
I started packing up my room last night. I'm onto about 5 boxes...and nowhere near done. How do I have so much stuff?! I really need to leave some of it at home. And a lot of it is going to stay in my storage unit all summer and I won't have to worry about a thing! Great!
We went out looking for sponsors this week, and we're done with the downtown area minus restaurants. That's great progress. We have a lot of interested people, and some places are thinking of loaning costumes! So we took the morning off today, because we needed a morning to sleep in.
We had a paper for Keely and Du and a quiz in Theatre History II on Monday. And Wednesday we had a quiz over The Clean House. I was excited to read that because it's in our main stage season for next year. It's a really good play and I'm excited to see how they put it together in the Warehouse space, since it's so much smaller. One main stage show a year is put on in the Warehouse, and next year The Clean House is that show. We're having our exam on Friday, covering all the plays we've read this side of Mid-Terms.
Tuesday I had Acting IV, and we did a dress rehearsal for our A Taste of Honey scene. It went really well. Chrisena and I received some small notes about keeping up the pace and our dialect. This is a lower class dialect, but not quite cockney, so we haven't covered it in class. Apparently, we were doing it too naturally. So we need to pull it back, and make it more stage appropriate. We reblocked some of the scene to give the characters a closer relationship. I'm really excited to perform today; I think it's going to go great. Every one's scenes sound really interesting and I can't wait to watch them.
We had the last Warehouse Company meeting last night. The Old Board handed out some awards for accomplishments during the season. Kaitie and I received the Dynamic Duo award, for attending every event together. It's so true! We were beginning to wonder if anyone else noticed how attached at the hip we are. Our schedules are the same, and we're room mates so there's really no escaping it. Betsy (the Chairwoman) made a joke saying we even had them change the time of the Field Day so we could show up together. We feel very honored.
The rest of the awards were for senior board members. All in all, the accomplishments that the board has made this year are amazing. They've come so far from last year and done so much more. I can only hope that our board stays that active next year. I think we're off to a really great start.
Last night was also the last Open Mic Night of the year. This means people can sign up to perform something of their own choosing. So a lot of seniors signed up and it was really fun to watch. Three seniors did Zac Efron's dance in High School Musical 2 "Bet on it"--hilarious. Then a bunch of the senior girls did a song acapella. We had a reading of poetry, a couple amazing spoken words, 3 songs, and a couple speeches. It turned into another sort of going away party, and I had a lot of fun. Everyone did a great job. I love Open Mic Nights because that's when so many of the students get to showcase their true talents. It's not about an audition or class work, it's about what people feel and what they want to share. And that's what I think art is.
I started packing up my room last night. I'm onto about 5 boxes...and nowhere near done. How do I have so much stuff?! I really need to leave some of it at home. And a lot of it is going to stay in my storage unit all summer and I won't have to worry about a thing! Great!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Ashes to Ashes
My directing scene is complete!!!
I had an early morning rehearsal for it on Saturday, then I went straight into rehearsal for the directing scene I was performing in. By the time they both were done it was time to perform. So I watch the first scene, then I went out to run lines with my scene partners, and then we performed. Sealed for Freshness went really well. Everyone laughed and Professor R seemed to like it. Then I helped my actors set up my scene and they went. It was the BEST they'd ever done it. It was different and new, and they were making new choices. I loved it. Everything came together great and I was so proud of my actors. We even had an amazing Pinter moment. At the end when Katie Mac was saying, "That was the last time I saw my baby" the picture of the baby that was put up earlier in the scene fell down! So, she lost her baby, and then the baby picture went away. It was creepy, and awesome. Professor R really liked that part. :)
Honestly, all the directing scenes went really well on Saturday. However, the camera we were videotaping mine with died about 5 minutes in. So I don't get to put up the video of it here for you to see. I'm kinda really upset about that. But theatre isn't meant to live forever like film, so I'll just have to deal with it!
Directly after the scenes we had a Stevies meeting and walked through the show for the night. We had a small break and I came back in time to help put up streamers for the show. Stevies is the party for the 3rd years. So we made it into a Master Class. We played all of the 3rd years and the faculty. We came out and said one liners for our assigned people, then we did monologues and then we did scenes. Between those we did sections of toasts and then the 3rd years could stand up and toast each other. It was really fun to do something so great for the 3rd years who have taught us so much. They enjoyed the night and they said some beautiful things about their class and their futures. I hope all their dreams come true!
Sunday I woke up entirely too early and did homework off and on all day. I have an acting scene to memorize and I wrote my paper for Theatre History II on Keely and Du, which is a play about abortion. It wasn't a difficult one at all--and better yet, it's the last one!
I'll have a Theatre History II exam on Friday, and that's the last big thing (besides performing Acting Scenes) that I have to do before finals! Hopefully I'll be out of here by next Tuesday!
This week I'll also be working with the Warehouse Board to find sponsors for out next season. Hopefully we meet all our goals.
I had an early morning rehearsal for it on Saturday, then I went straight into rehearsal for the directing scene I was performing in. By the time they both were done it was time to perform. So I watch the first scene, then I went out to run lines with my scene partners, and then we performed. Sealed for Freshness went really well. Everyone laughed and Professor R seemed to like it. Then I helped my actors set up my scene and they went. It was the BEST they'd ever done it. It was different and new, and they were making new choices. I loved it. Everything came together great and I was so proud of my actors. We even had an amazing Pinter moment. At the end when Katie Mac was saying, "That was the last time I saw my baby" the picture of the baby that was put up earlier in the scene fell down! So, she lost her baby, and then the baby picture went away. It was creepy, and awesome. Professor R really liked that part. :)
Honestly, all the directing scenes went really well on Saturday. However, the camera we were videotaping mine with died about 5 minutes in. So I don't get to put up the video of it here for you to see. I'm kinda really upset about that. But theatre isn't meant to live forever like film, so I'll just have to deal with it!
Directly after the scenes we had a Stevies meeting and walked through the show for the night. We had a small break and I came back in time to help put up streamers for the show. Stevies is the party for the 3rd years. So we made it into a Master Class. We played all of the 3rd years and the faculty. We came out and said one liners for our assigned people, then we did monologues and then we did scenes. Between those we did sections of toasts and then the 3rd years could stand up and toast each other. It was really fun to do something so great for the 3rd years who have taught us so much. They enjoyed the night and they said some beautiful things about their class and their futures. I hope all their dreams come true!
Sunday I woke up entirely too early and did homework off and on all day. I have an acting scene to memorize and I wrote my paper for Theatre History II on Keely and Du, which is a play about abortion. It wasn't a difficult one at all--and better yet, it's the last one!
I'll have a Theatre History II exam on Friday, and that's the last big thing (besides performing Acting Scenes) that I have to do before finals! Hopefully I'll be out of here by next Tuesday!
This week I'll also be working with the Warehouse Board to find sponsors for out next season. Hopefully we meet all our goals.
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