Hit Refresh

The large knot on my forearm that I'm almost certain is a bone bruise thanks me for having the next two days off. The rest of me is sad and yet elated. Opening weekend was so exciting. Saturday we headlined for the Seattle Outdoor Theatre Festival at 7pm. We had almost 500 people show up to watch! They were a wonderful audience and we had a fantastically fun show running, rolling, fighting, and wooing.

Sunday night was a slower night. The sun wasn't out, the temperature was lower, and the park was closed to cars for 'bike day' so our audience was smaller. All in all, it was a test in pushing the pace and raising the energy to keep the audience engaged. Based on our charitable donations and audience enjoyment, I'd say we succeeded!

Now the cast has a wonderful two days off until our pick-up rehearsal on Wednesday night. We perform Thursday through Sunday this week. Because there is so much to remember, we're required to rehearse the night before our next show to refresh blocking, memorization, and fight choreography. I'm excited for my co-workers to see the show this week, as well.

Now that I have a couple days to myself I feel a little lighter. I love being busy, but now I have just the right amount of time to clean my apartment, run some errands, and maybe read a book. By read a book I mean that I'll probably be reading plays for Acting on Friday, and refreshing my memorization on my upcoming Tuesday audition pieces. Since Hamlet and Scapin are the two plays I'm auditioning for, I watched a Hamlet documentary on Netflix to get in the mindset. Of course, this made me overly excited for auditions and now I can't wait to do them. Plus, I adore auditioning for new people and I've never auditioned for this company before. It's so refreshing to put yourself out there for people who don't know who you are!

I've written my cover letter and made my submission packets for agency submissions and will be sending those out this week and waiting to hear back. It's nice to be able to do this while I'm in a show, so if the agency is interested enough they have the opportunity to come see my work.

In this short three day run a reality has really sunk in for me. I'm one of three women in this wonderful cast. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been cast with these fine women (and men). Every time an audience comes out to see us, the gender division becomes increasingly apparent to me. It only solidifies how difficult it can be for females in this industry. There aren't as many roles available to us, and that fact makes it difficult to obtain consistent work unless you're in demand. The Hamlet audition I'm doing on Tuesday is for a gender crossed version. All the male roles have been made into female roles. Many theatres make decisions like this when they know the majority of their talent will be heavily female. Of course, it's obviously an artistic statement as well--but it's a great opportunity for the female actors in the area to have a go at some truly inspiring material. My goal this next year is to continue to do the work I love to do, and hopefully to become an actor in this city that people want to watch again. That's the key--when you're given the chance to act, do it well so you have the chance again.

I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've had this summer so far. I've finally been able to find my family here, and that's the most important thing about theatre. Here's to seventeen more exciting shows!