Lately I've been getting little flashes of this amazing feeling. It's a feeling I forgot I could feel. Because it happens so seldom, it normally makes me feel nostalgic. But it's been occurring more and more often lately, and I can only hope that I can relearn to grasp it fully.
It's the way I used to feel at Stephens College. I'd wake up every morning knowing that I had somehow been lucky enough to find exactly where I belonged. I had a beautiful artistic family, and every class I took, every conversation I had, and every single moment I spent in those three years felt as if I was accomplishing something important and meaningful. I was impacting the people around me, and they were impacting me. I was so open.
Graduating was an adjustment, certainly. And I've never lost my passion for acting in the time I've sent out of school. But it's only recently that I seem to have rekindled that magical feeling of doing work that's important. To me, and potentially to other people. I walk the halls of TPS during rehearsals and I can hear other actors rehearsing their work and I think "How lucky am I to be surrounded by people who understand that what they do is important?"
Truly, how many people in the world think that their job matters? How many people work for more than a paycheck? How many people live their life in pursuit of something so intangible, but so powerful and overwhelming that they know they can't do anything else? I'm sure there are many. Politicians, scientists, researchers, teachers, and the people who discover new things every day.
It feels like magic when there's that moment in your day that reminds you that you're exactly where you should be, doing exactly what you should be doing. Right now, it's only a moment. It used to be a constant. I strive to rediscover the constant! It happens the more I push myself; the harder and deeper I throw myself into something new. And I love every second of it. Here's to the magic.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
My summer of 2013
I know I've been absent. Frankly I've wrapped my arms so tightly around too many projects this summer that my hands have not been free to write. I've just returned from a lovely vacation in Florida that afforded me some much needed perspective, and I think that was the key I was missing.
I've been shooting a lot recently for my webseries House of Glass. Here are some pics:
I've been shooting a lot recently for my webseries House of Glass. Here are some pics:
That's been a crazy process of scheduling, and trying to film in the rain with the wrong sound equipment, and long drives to location shots, and A LOT of bruises from legitimate sparing and hand to hand combat. But it's been fun! And I'm excited to see the footage. I'm not wrapped on filming yet until mid October, but hopefully this will be edited and released for the public at the beginning of the new year!
I've started rehearsals for the Seattle Fringe Festival. I'm doing a new play called Operation Hibernation which is an in depth look at the lengths people will go to believe what they want. I'm incredibly excited to be a part of the Fringe Festival for the 2nd annual year of its comeback! Here's our postcard and poster:
It's going to be a wild ride.
I'm really starting to feel like the work I'm doing matters again. I was working my way up for so long, and now the roles I'm being offered are finally starting to feel good again. After the Fringe Fest I'll be doing two Noel Coward one act's in British dialect, which I couldn't be more excited about. And then I'll finally be joining the Book-It Theatre in Frankenstein!
I've also recently booked my first SAG film through my agent, and I'll be getting my time period clothes on since it's about the Salem Witch Trials.
I've spent this summer relaxing in the sun, reading books, and seeing as much theatre as I can around my crazy schedule.
Some shows I've seen:
1. The Wild Party by Sound Theatre
2. A Keiko Green original that I can't remember the name of
3. Gruesome Playground Injuries by Azeotrope
4. Gloucester Blues by Harlequinn
5. A Midsummer Night's Dream by Greenstage
6. Picnic by ReAct Theatre
And now the marathon starts. I'm booked until mid March, and you can stay tuned for all the adventures that are sure to unfold!
Until next time: Some food for thought for the women of the theatre:
http://abderian-aeolist.tumblr.com/post/59347833397/i-once-had-a-guy-tell-me-tw-sexual-assault-in-my
The Clockwork Professor post mortem
The Clockwork Professor reached it's kickstarter goal startlingly fast. The show was a complete hit--not only with the steampunk crowd of Seattle (of which there are many), but with the general public as well. It was a great gift to work on a show where I could feel the magic happening. The cast was tight, the belief in the playwright and the script was flawless, and our ability to pull together and make it work (under fabulous direction I might add) made the show soar. There were kind comments all around, and I don't think I could have picked a better show to work on for the summer.
Here are some of the reviews I could scrounge up, for my own records:
http://artsstage-seattlerage.com/2013/the-clockwork-professor-at-theatre-off-jackson/
http://www.dianavick.com/?p=919
http://copiouslove.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/copious-love-suggests-the-clockwork-professor/
http://www.broadwayworld.com/seattle/article/BWW-Reviews-THE-CLOCKWORK-PROFESSOR-at-TOJ-Offers-Fun-Steampunk-Melodrama-20130726
And take a look at some pictures!
Here are some of the reviews I could scrounge up, for my own records:
http://artsstage-seattlerage.com/2013/the-clockwork-professor-at-theatre-off-jackson/
http://www.dianavick.com/?p=919
http://copiouslove.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/copious-love-suggests-the-clockwork-professor/
http://www.broadwayworld.com/seattle/article/BWW-Reviews-THE-CLOCKWORK-PROFESSOR-at-TOJ-Offers-Fun-Steampunk-Melodrama-20130726
And take a look at some pictures!
I suppose now that the show is done with I can release the secret that I did in fact play a robot! It was incredibly fun and challenging to keep my eyes from never blinking, control myself from brushing hair out of my face, and trying to conceal my breathing. Any erroneous movement was a break of character, so it was exciting to keep my body so controlled for the duration of the show. And I've never had to be dead on stage for so long. Whew!
The challenges I faced:
-My contacts falling out on stage. Luckily most of the time I was able to grab them in my gloved hands and put them in my mouth to keep them moist. But you try saying your lines with a contact in your mouth and a blind eye. There was one night where I was not able to catch it. It fell out after my deactivation and I spent the rest of act 1 blind. My SM went on stage at intermission and miraculously found it unscathed even though it had landed in the main traffic pattern. Crazy!
-The amount of enunciation on our crazy new world language was definitely hard. I've never done so much vocal warm up and stretching before a show!
-Matching all my movements precisely to my fellow Robot. Especially the one moment when we both have to flick out a feather duster at the same time. If we were off on a movement it was so noticeable and the humor was lost. Luckily it barely happened!
-Popping my rib out of place during a show. That was rough. And then subsequently coming back two days later for industry night and having to do all of my contortion and gymnastic choreography. But I survived and my cast couldn't have been more encouraging and supportive! And my mom was there for those shows..so that was cool. Fun memories, mom, right?
It was an absolute blast. Miss you guys!
Monday, June 17, 2013
The Summer Begins
For some reason I couldn't get my fingers to type anything worth posting this last month, though plenty has been happening.
I closed Starcrossed at Annex Theatre, and I've started rehearsals for my upcoming summer production of The Clockwork Professor by the amazing local playwright Maggie Lee. You can see our kickstarter campaign here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1086790052/the-clockwork-professor
It's a steampunk action, love story--so really it doesn't get any better than that. I'll be doing some dancing, some stage combat, and some strange contortion things. We've blocked the entire show, and we've moved into run thrus! We're right on schedule, and we'll be opening July 12!
In other news I've had two callbacks, and a SAG audition. My callbacks were for a local theatre company doing some great plays, and I've just heard back from the director of one of them--and I got cast! I had such a fun time at the audition. It was the first time in a while that I got to use my British dialect, and I really enjoyed stretching those muscles. I'll be performing during the whole month of November, and I'm really looking forward to rehearsals, which will be starting in October. More news to come as the show date gets closer!
I went to a SAG short film audition yesterday--my first. I had seen a posting for it online, and they contacted my agent and that was that. The second I showed up it was extremely apparent to me that I was the only non-union actor there (at least at the time I was called), and then I had the pleasure of double checking when I saw that the sign in list was for SAG-only, and everyone else was on it. Needless to say I was a little intimidated, and I had only discovered a couple hours prior to my audition that I might have the wrong sides. I was reading for a 40 year old character. The older women around me were all reading for the younger character, so certainly something was amiss. But no, I was told by the director as she came out to apologize for us being behind schedule that I was in fact reading for the 40 year old, and would I please read with this older woman (who was reading for the younger character--though she couldn't be much older than me at all) who was infinitely more prepared than I (I won't give you my excuses for not being prepared)?
Of course I agreed and went into the room, where luckily my co-actor read first. I say luckily because this film audition was so out of my league compared to the others I've attended in the city, and I truly felt like I was going to embarrass myself. Instead, I got to watch how she interpreted the sides (though we had different sides, at least I got to watch her movement ) and it was really helpful. In the end, I read twice. Once with the other actor, and once on my own. The directors ended up really liking us as a pair, and I was flabbergasted because I felt completely out of my league. I was confident in my audition, but not familiar with the process and so I was out of sorts. It was really nice to hear positive feedback in a situation like that, and it was also so beneficial for me to watch another actor do their audition. I can only cross my fingers that I'll have an opportunity to work on a project like this with some seasoned film actors who can teach me a thing or two.
I have more filming coming up in the next few months on House of Glass, which will be really fun. I also had the opportunity to do a play reading for a local playwright who will be putting her play on later this year. It was a really amazing script, and I can't wait to audition for the show. I would absolutely love to be a part of it. I was also asked to read a script at a fundraiser of a local theatre, and it turned out to be a big hit.
I've had some really wonderful experiences this past month--and I can't wait for the next month. I have a big audition coming up for a local theatre here. I also will be auditioning for a small touring company. I've become a company member at Annex Theatre, and I'm becoming more involved there. And soon I'll be opening The Clockwork Professor! Good things to come!
I closed Starcrossed at Annex Theatre, and I've started rehearsals for my upcoming summer production of The Clockwork Professor by the amazing local playwright Maggie Lee. You can see our kickstarter campaign here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1086790052/the-clockwork-professor
It's a steampunk action, love story--so really it doesn't get any better than that. I'll be doing some dancing, some stage combat, and some strange contortion things. We've blocked the entire show, and we've moved into run thrus! We're right on schedule, and we'll be opening July 12!
In other news I've had two callbacks, and a SAG audition. My callbacks were for a local theatre company doing some great plays, and I've just heard back from the director of one of them--and I got cast! I had such a fun time at the audition. It was the first time in a while that I got to use my British dialect, and I really enjoyed stretching those muscles. I'll be performing during the whole month of November, and I'm really looking forward to rehearsals, which will be starting in October. More news to come as the show date gets closer!
I went to a SAG short film audition yesterday--my first. I had seen a posting for it online, and they contacted my agent and that was that. The second I showed up it was extremely apparent to me that I was the only non-union actor there (at least at the time I was called), and then I had the pleasure of double checking when I saw that the sign in list was for SAG-only, and everyone else was on it. Needless to say I was a little intimidated, and I had only discovered a couple hours prior to my audition that I might have the wrong sides. I was reading for a 40 year old character. The older women around me were all reading for the younger character, so certainly something was amiss. But no, I was told by the director as she came out to apologize for us being behind schedule that I was in fact reading for the 40 year old, and would I please read with this older woman (who was reading for the younger character--though she couldn't be much older than me at all) who was infinitely more prepared than I (I won't give you my excuses for not being prepared)?
Of course I agreed and went into the room, where luckily my co-actor read first. I say luckily because this film audition was so out of my league compared to the others I've attended in the city, and I truly felt like I was going to embarrass myself. Instead, I got to watch how she interpreted the sides (though we had different sides, at least I got to watch her movement ) and it was really helpful. In the end, I read twice. Once with the other actor, and once on my own. The directors ended up really liking us as a pair, and I was flabbergasted because I felt completely out of my league. I was confident in my audition, but not familiar with the process and so I was out of sorts. It was really nice to hear positive feedback in a situation like that, and it was also so beneficial for me to watch another actor do their audition. I can only cross my fingers that I'll have an opportunity to work on a project like this with some seasoned film actors who can teach me a thing or two.
I have more filming coming up in the next few months on House of Glass, which will be really fun. I also had the opportunity to do a play reading for a local playwright who will be putting her play on later this year. It was a really amazing script, and I can't wait to audition for the show. I would absolutely love to be a part of it. I was also asked to read a script at a fundraiser of a local theatre, and it turned out to be a big hit.
I've had some really wonderful experiences this past month--and I can't wait for the next month. I have a big audition coming up for a local theatre here. I also will be auditioning for a small touring company. I've become a company member at Annex Theatre, and I'm becoming more involved there. And soon I'll be opening The Clockwork Professor! Good things to come!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
This time last year
I've been thinking a lot lately about this time last year.
This time last year I was filming a movie which turned out to be my favorite experience of 2012. This time last year I was an assistant at my job. I was figuring myself out, spreading myself too thin between too many projects, and cramming my life full of all the experiences I wanted to have -- all at the same time.
And it wasn't bad. It was fun and exciting and I learned a lot. I also know now, looking back, that doing so much at once is how I lost inspiration. This year, after giving myself time, finding new hobbies, taking breaks, and spreading my schedule out so things don't collide, I've become so inspired.
I'm inspired to try new things. I'm inspired to let go of things that are holding me back. I'm inspired to start trusting myself again. Really trusting my intuition and my desires. I don't feel as lost as I did my first year in the city (go figure), and I'm so excited for the road ahead.
I have new theatres on my radar and I'm on the radar of new theatres. I have a wonderful group of family and friends surrounding me that I can lean on when I need to. And I'm finally starting to feel like I'm finding myself in this market. I feel better about my skills, my technique, my drive, and my path. It just took me a little while to gain my footing.
This year, I've started working with theatres that I love, who are consistently doing work that I love. I've focused on my health and wellness. I've focused on my frame of mind (and my peace of mind for that matter). I've gotten an agent. I've been promoted. I've gotten raises. I've worked with new teaching companies, and met new people that have offered me great opportunities. I've started reading more and writing again. I think I'm just now beginning to see the benefits of working on me.
It all goes to show that treating people with respect, always being friendly and open, and showing people the genuine kindness they deserve leads you to receive the same. I'm feeling so grateful for all my experiences today, and I can't wait for the new ones that are on their way.
This time last year I was filming a movie which turned out to be my favorite experience of 2012. This time last year I was an assistant at my job. I was figuring myself out, spreading myself too thin between too many projects, and cramming my life full of all the experiences I wanted to have -- all at the same time.
And it wasn't bad. It was fun and exciting and I learned a lot. I also know now, looking back, that doing so much at once is how I lost inspiration. This year, after giving myself time, finding new hobbies, taking breaks, and spreading my schedule out so things don't collide, I've become so inspired.
I'm inspired to try new things. I'm inspired to let go of things that are holding me back. I'm inspired to start trusting myself again. Really trusting my intuition and my desires. I don't feel as lost as I did my first year in the city (go figure), and I'm so excited for the road ahead.
I have new theatres on my radar and I'm on the radar of new theatres. I have a wonderful group of family and friends surrounding me that I can lean on when I need to. And I'm finally starting to feel like I'm finding myself in this market. I feel better about my skills, my technique, my drive, and my path. It just took me a little while to gain my footing.
This year, I've started working with theatres that I love, who are consistently doing work that I love. I've focused on my health and wellness. I've focused on my frame of mind (and my peace of mind for that matter). I've gotten an agent. I've been promoted. I've gotten raises. I've worked with new teaching companies, and met new people that have offered me great opportunities. I've started reading more and writing again. I think I'm just now beginning to see the benefits of working on me.
It all goes to show that treating people with respect, always being friendly and open, and showing people the genuine kindness they deserve leads you to receive the same. I'm feeling so grateful for all my experiences today, and I can't wait for the new ones that are on their way.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
New Website!
I finally made my first actor website! Now, to be fair, it's not completed. I haven't received the CD of my newest headshots to update all my pictures, but it's on it's way. I can officially say I have a website for possible employers to view (and judge me) by. I'm really excited about it.
www.saschastreckel.com
Starcrossed is almost done. We have two more shows left on Tues/Wed night. I also start rehearsal for my upcoming summer show this week. I guess it won't be 'upcoming' for much longer! I'm ready to get the new script and dig in. It's a new work, so the author has been busy tweaking it for the last couple months. It will be fun to be working with a playwright again.
I wish I had some cool new pictures from this latest production to share with you, but I haven't seen the results of our photocall yet. I'll be sure to post them if I get them. In other news I've joined a new play reading group I'm excited about, and I've been working with my agent on joining all the local casting sites to finally get kickstarted commercially.
I expect this summer will be an adventure in new auditions.
www.saschastreckel.com
Starcrossed is almost done. We have two more shows left on Tues/Wed night. I also start rehearsal for my upcoming summer show this week. I guess it won't be 'upcoming' for much longer! I'm ready to get the new script and dig in. It's a new work, so the author has been busy tweaking it for the last couple months. It will be fun to be working with a playwright again.
I wish I had some cool new pictures from this latest production to share with you, but I haven't seen the results of our photocall yet. I'll be sure to post them if I get them. In other news I've joined a new play reading group I'm excited about, and I've been working with my agent on joining all the local casting sites to finally get kickstarted commercially.
I expect this summer will be an adventure in new auditions.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Spring Fever
So I had started some blog posts previously, and hadn't had time to finish them. I just posted one of my previous posts from early April.
It's been so busy I've let time get away from me. My only excuse is I've had a wonderful two months focusing on real life and forgetting to catalog it. Sorry!
Rehearsals for Starcrossed went extremely well, and I've had a great time with the cast and crew. We officially opened on Tuesday night, and can I just say I haven't enjoyed an opening that much in a while. There was so much laughter I had to wait nearly ten to fifteen seconds to say lines sometimes. What a treat!
Tonight I'll be performing in Spin the Bottle at Annex to preview Starcrossed for those who haven't seen it yet. I wrapped all my filming these last two months and I'm just waiting on footage from my commercial. I've taken new headshots and received the results, so you should be seeing those as soon as I have the full resolution images. Next up on my list of things to do is create my website! I can't believe I haven't done it yet.
This week I have three big auditions coming up. I'm very excited to sing and act and do my best to be remembered. Finally having the opportunity to audition for larger theatres here is so exciting for me. I can't wait to be in the room with them!
Rehearsals for my next upcoming show start as soon as Starcrossed closes in a month, so I've got a little bit of down time (which I'll be filling with classes and workshops and auditions). I was talking to a friend yesterday who is struggling with the decision of whether or not she wants to be an actor anymore. Is it worth it? she asked. Am I good enough? Is it what I want to do? As we were talking and I explained my schedule and the way I live my life around it, I realized how happy I am doing what I'm doing.
I could potentially grab a full time job with a company that will help promote me within, find a better benefits package, have my nights free to myself, focus on a different kind of future. I look at that life, though, and think how unhappy I would be. Right now acting is what makes me happy. I wake up and go to work and look forward to rehearsals and auditions every day. When I get to rehearsals, I'm with friends that I love to spend my time with, and who I'm lucky to have. When I'm on stage I feel like there's no where else I'd rather be. If I could find a job at a theatre here, I'd be a happy camper. As it is, I keep my life free for agents, auditions, rehearsals, and shows. I call out early on the chance of an acting job. I stay up late to work on my characters. I'm more worried about being memorized than I am about planning curriculum. Until the day that changes, I'll never see these choices as a sacrifice. And that is the heart of being an actor--when does it become a sacrifice? When is it time to stop? It's different for everybody.
As for me, I couldn't be more excited for this coming week. There are so many great shows to see in this city, and so many great opportunities to perform. Here's to the beginning of the summer season!
It's been so busy I've let time get away from me. My only excuse is I've had a wonderful two months focusing on real life and forgetting to catalog it. Sorry!
Rehearsals for Starcrossed went extremely well, and I've had a great time with the cast and crew. We officially opened on Tuesday night, and can I just say I haven't enjoyed an opening that much in a while. There was so much laughter I had to wait nearly ten to fifteen seconds to say lines sometimes. What a treat!
Tonight I'll be performing in Spin the Bottle at Annex to preview Starcrossed for those who haven't seen it yet. I wrapped all my filming these last two months and I'm just waiting on footage from my commercial. I've taken new headshots and received the results, so you should be seeing those as soon as I have the full resolution images. Next up on my list of things to do is create my website! I can't believe I haven't done it yet.
This week I have three big auditions coming up. I'm very excited to sing and act and do my best to be remembered. Finally having the opportunity to audition for larger theatres here is so exciting for me. I can't wait to be in the room with them!
Rehearsals for my next upcoming show start as soon as Starcrossed closes in a month, so I've got a little bit of down time (which I'll be filling with classes and workshops and auditions). I was talking to a friend yesterday who is struggling with the decision of whether or not she wants to be an actor anymore. Is it worth it? she asked. Am I good enough? Is it what I want to do? As we were talking and I explained my schedule and the way I live my life around it, I realized how happy I am doing what I'm doing.
I could potentially grab a full time job with a company that will help promote me within, find a better benefits package, have my nights free to myself, focus on a different kind of future. I look at that life, though, and think how unhappy I would be. Right now acting is what makes me happy. I wake up and go to work and look forward to rehearsals and auditions every day. When I get to rehearsals, I'm with friends that I love to spend my time with, and who I'm lucky to have. When I'm on stage I feel like there's no where else I'd rather be. If I could find a job at a theatre here, I'd be a happy camper. As it is, I keep my life free for agents, auditions, rehearsals, and shows. I call out early on the chance of an acting job. I stay up late to work on my characters. I'm more worried about being memorized than I am about planning curriculum. Until the day that changes, I'll never see these choices as a sacrifice. And that is the heart of being an actor--when does it become a sacrifice? When is it time to stop? It's different for everybody.
As for me, I couldn't be more excited for this coming week. There are so many great shows to see in this city, and so many great opportunities to perform. Here's to the beginning of the summer season!
House of Glass Clip
WRITTEN early 4/13
You can watch my 'prequel' episode for House of Glass here: It's been a fast and full couple of weeks since my last update. I had days of filming, hours of rehearsal, nights of performances and reading, as well as multiple auditions. I'm happy to say I've been having a grand old time flying my actor flag, and am excited about the upcoming weeks.
We're finally starting regular rehearsals for my next show at a local theatre here in Seattle. We've been rehearsing about once a week or so, and I'm ready to finally delve in and get to the good stuff. I finished filming a commercial last weekend with a couple friends. It was incredibly silly. I had a southern dialect and got to ride around on a man's back in the middle of a crowded neighborhood. It was refreshing to be working with familiar faces, which is something that hasn't started happening with me in Seattle often since I'm still so new. It was always nice in college to work with people you knew and understood very well, and I'm excited to begin to have the opportunity in this market as well. Sometimes the better you know someone, the better your work can be. Of course, it could also go the other way. I hope to have the link available to watch in the next couple weeks! I'll be sure to post it here so stay tuned.
In other news, I've signed on for another staged reading coming up. I've also had my first read through for my upcoming summer show. It's such a pleasure to get to work with the original playwright on a play, so I'm ready to start this next process coming up shortly.
You can watch my 'prequel' episode for House of Glass here: It's been a fast and full couple of weeks since my last update. I had days of filming, hours of rehearsal, nights of performances and reading, as well as multiple auditions. I'm happy to say I've been having a grand old time flying my actor flag, and am excited about the upcoming weeks.
We're finally starting regular rehearsals for my next show at a local theatre here in Seattle. We've been rehearsing about once a week or so, and I'm ready to finally delve in and get to the good stuff. I finished filming a commercial last weekend with a couple friends. It was incredibly silly. I had a southern dialect and got to ride around on a man's back in the middle of a crowded neighborhood. It was refreshing to be working with familiar faces, which is something that hasn't started happening with me in Seattle often since I'm still so new. It was always nice in college to work with people you knew and understood very well, and I'm excited to begin to have the opportunity in this market as well. Sometimes the better you know someone, the better your work can be. Of course, it could also go the other way. I hope to have the link available to watch in the next couple weeks! I'll be sure to post it here so stay tuned.
In other news, I've signed on for another staged reading coming up. I've also had my first read through for my upcoming summer show. It's such a pleasure to get to work with the original playwright on a play, so I'm ready to start this next process coming up shortly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)