Opening Night!

I was going to chronicle this last night, but I got back from my cast party so late and I just wanted to go to sleep.

Opening Night went Great! Two of my acting professors came D and R. And L will be there tonight. The faculty is showing so much support for this show, and Director should be so proud of her work.

Our house was 1/3 full, which is expected on a Wednesday night, but they were responsive and gave us great feedback. It's always fun to perform for new people because they find humor and sadness where you didn't, and it changes the way you interpret things.

All the girls were really stoked, and the costumes were completed and looking great. I had a last minute costume fitting while the girls cleaned up the Warehouse (the theatre that we performed in). Then we all rushed to the Warehouse meeting to talk about running for the board for next year. I would love to be a part of the board. The Warehouse is a completely student run organization that produces and performs shows on campus. Being on the board is great experience for the real world from a business and artistic standpoint. Elections are coming up soon!

Anyway, then we all raced over to the theatre to begin getting ready. Some of the cast handed our cards and presents which are always amazing to receive. I write mine for the last day of the show so I haven't handed mine out yet. The respect and camaraderie in this cast is awesome to be a part of and I had so much fun pre-show just being with the girls.

Our first year cast member is the first to appear on stage and she really rocked it out last night. It was obvious that she was feeding off the audience energy, and she changed some of her performance and really stepped up her game. It was so exciting to watch, knowing that she'll be here with me next year to hopefully work with again. Our other cast members are 3rd years and are graduating in May (our program is 3 years, 2 summers). They were all equally amazing as well.

My costumes went smoothly, my makeup was good (for my last scene). I only dropped my dialect twice (unfortunately) on a can't and a been. Our Acting Professor L, who was also our dialect coach is attending tonight and I'm going to make sure I don't slip up.

All in all, I can tell that this production is only going to get better as it goes on! I'm excited that so many people are excited to come and see it. Most of the theatre crowd is attending on Saturday because they're in the rehearsal process for Playing for Time and don't have nights off. Our lunch lady told me today she's going to come on Friday! It's going to be a crazy ride, I can't believe it's almost over. But auditions for the next show are on Tuesday so I have another opportunity on the way.

Just to cover the bases: Today in Acting IV we showed the first 5-10 lines of our Greek Monologues to Acting Professor B, and she helped to give us ideas. She reminded me that starting in a neutral stance doesn't help me, it only hurts me. She says from the waist up, I understand the exercise really well, and I'm doing the gestalt correctly, but I need to engage my lower body more by giving myself the opportunity to move. So she had me sit in an uncentered position, and gave me some examples. She also said I could use my clothing more since it's referenced in my monologue so often. Before I left the room I asked whether or not this technique should be used in a regular audition, and she told me it is often encouraged. So many people stand in neutral that it's often intriguing and more attention grabbing to find a person start on the floor or sit in a chair or have their back turned. Being unique is what it's all about. Now I can definitely employ this for the rest of my time here. I might even start with my audition next week!

I'm off to finish my hair before show call!