Monday, September 20

Antigone Now

We've had rehearsals the last 3 days. We've been doing Straight-6s (meaning that we do 6 hours of rehearsal, with a 20-minute dinner break somewhere in the middle).

The show is already mostly blocked, which is great. It's starting to take shape. I had another costume fitting on Saturday. The leads had a photo call this morning.

It's so hard to blog about the rehearsal process. The things I think of are things that mean nothing out of the context of the rehearsal.

Voice Professor has attended a couple of rehearsals as our vocal coach. The notes I've gotten from her include:

- Too choppy
- Falling into vocal pattern
- Watch the vowels on the phrase "our old king"
- Don't get stuck in upper register

But I corrected those pretty quickly, I think.

We've been told that tomorrow a news crew is coming in to shoot some B-roll of our rehearsal for a story they're doing. I just got an e-mail now saying that I'm called from 1:30pm-7:00pm.

Friday, September 17

3rd-Year Class

We have such a long to-do list before Showcase.

I'm in charge of getting the wheels rolling on our website. We might have to purchase Dreamweaver, or another sort of website design program. Or we might end up hiring someone to make it for us. So I'm looking into that.

The Student Rep Board traditionally allocates some funds to the 3rd-years being able to buy some new plays to read for Showcase scenes, provided that the plays then get donated to our Conservatory Library, so that all three classes can benefit from them. We have to figure out what plays we'd like to request.

We're still figuring out head-shots... I hope we can all agree on everything.

We also have to discuss as a class who we might want as a graduation speaker (far in advance, I know... we don't graduate until May). It can be someone we've worked with, or an alum of the program, or even just someone in the business whom we'd like to meet. We have some ideas, but no consensus as of yet.

Also, we have to coordinate how to set up brunch after graduation. All-the-Way is heading up that project.

We read a few scenes to try them out for Showcase. One was pretty good, but needs to be cut. One was way too long. A couple of them were too much exposition.

A sent a few scenes out to some of my classmates last week, but I don't know how right they are for our needs. It's hard for me to read a play and know how something will work out of context.

Fundraising/Late Nights

Next week, there are going to be three performances of Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp. It's a student-produced Late Night event (although they're not always all that late...). Iceman directed it, and it stars All-The-Way, D-Train, & Killer. Two-Shots-Up & I will be appearing in non-speaking roles.

Antigone Now

Today was (finally!) our first day of rehearsal.

We started things off with a short "meet-and-greet", of all the cast, crew, & production team. It was fun. And it made me feel really good about this project.

Antigone Now by Melissa Cooper is an updated version of Sophocles' classic play, Antigone. The theatre is putting it up as an educational outreach project. We will be touring it around the area, mostly to area high schools. In the past, it has been difficult for schools to get the funding to get buses to come see theatre, so we're going to them! We'll be performing throughout the month of October (and rumor has it, the show is quite popular and we might end up booking into November). There will be a talk-back after every performance.

We started rehearsal with a read-through. The cast is:

Antigone: Two-Shots-Up

Ismene: Newbie

Creon: Iceman

Chorus Leader: Wifey

Chorus: Angela, All-the-Way, Killer, O.D., & Thrill

We did a read-through first. After that, the chorus wasn't needed much. We ended up getting out a bit early. A pretty successful first day, I thought.

Saturday, September 11

Fundraising
Our first fundraiser was a book sale on Monday, and it was a HUGE success! Tons of people donated books (thank you!), and we had tons of people shopping and buying books as well (thank you!). All-the-Way and I made some baked goods to sell as well. It went so well that we might end up doing another one later in the year.


Antigone Now
9 of us are in a play called Antigone Now. We just got our scripts, and we had a bit of homework to turn in. We had to answer questions about who our characters are and what drives us. The Chorus (which includes me) also had to say whose side we think we're on. We just got some feedback from the Director (who also directed us in Machinal last year). We start rehearsals next Friday. I can't wait to get going!

I also had my first costume fitting on Friday. I love costume fittings. I pose every time they take a picture of me in a new outfit. The people in the costume shop seem to get a kick out of that. I love trying everything on, and trying to figure out how my character might grow into that look. So much fun.


Intro to Equity
Instead of our regular class this week, a stage manager who is working at the Rep came to talk with us about Actors' Equity Association. We're all EMC (Equity Membership Candidates) right now, and we will all have acquired enough "weeks" to be Equity eligible when we graduate in May.

The SM came with a handout for us! And she had tons of great tips. Here's some of what she had to say...

• Actors' Equity Association - http://www.ActorsEquity.org
- Document Library has every form, code, agreement, and rule. If you have a question about AEA, you can likely find the answer here.
- Casting Call lists upcoming auditions and requests for Photos and Résumés (She said it's unlikely that we'll actually get work from something posted on the website, but it couldn't hurt to know what's going on and stay informed.)
- Member Benefits will link you up with all EYE member perks, from discount gym memberships and car rentals to VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). You can get your taxes done for FREE by people who are trained by the IRS to know all the ins and outs of filing taxes specifically for actors. (And we can write off crazy things... even manicures and pedicures!)

• READ your contracts! Every contract is different. Hold the theatre accountable for what's in your contract, and don't let them get away with anything illegal. (Check rules in the Document Library)
- Also, sometimes there are hidden perks. At our theatre, most contracts get to ship things for free. Take advantage of stuff like that!

• Actors' Federal Credit Union - http://www.ActorsFCU.org
- Great online banking features (which are helpful to actors, as we move around a lot)
- Members qualify for home, car, and small loans for computers, headshots, medical expenses (even plastic surgery!)
- Has reciprocity with other credit unions

• Actors' Fund - http://www.ActorsFund.org
- Al Hirschfeld Free Clinic (FREE flu shots!)
- Subsidized housing for people in the entertainment industry
- Day Job counseling and training
- Conrad Cantzen Shoe Fund (Actors can get reimbursed for up to $40 for shoes every year! Which, if you shop like me, means FREE SHOES!)


Good rules to know...
- Be on time! If you're running late, call or text your stage manager. It's better for you to call them than for them to have to call you.
- We work for 55 minutes then take a 5 minute break OR work for 1 hour 20 minutes and then take a 10 minute break.
- When you work a Straight-6 hour day, you have to take at least one 20 minute break.
- The Rep works on a "LORT (League of Regional Theatres) C Rep" contract. Actors are allowed 48 hours of rehearsal + additional time for costume fittings each week. We work mostly "8 out of 10s" (meaning that we will rehearse for 8 hours over the span of 10. Usually it's in two 4-hour chunks with a 2-hour break. That's a long lunch break, but it's because of the nature of the Rep: we might be working on a completely different show after our break, so the longer break helps us to be prepared for that mentally.) We also work two "10 out of 12s" per show during tech week (musicals have three "10 out of 12s).
- Costume fittings have to be scheduled directly before or after rehearsal or during the rehearsal day for all Equity actors. (That means that all the students -- who are not Equity yet -- get stuck with the not-so-great fitting times.)
- Prop and Costume requests need to go through the Stage Manager.
- The Equity Deputy is the representative of the cast. The Deputy is elected in the AEA meeting on the first day of rehearsal. If there is a problem (of any kind), go to your Stage Manager first. If the problem is not resolved, then go to the Deputy, who will most likely talk to the SM, and then go to the appropriate administrator. (She recommended that at some point early in our career we take on the job of Deputy. It's daunting, but it really helps you learn about the union. And she says it usually ends up being a fairly easy job.)
- Also voted on in the AEA meeting is the length of the meal break, and if the company will work Straight-6s. The meal break can be 1 hour, 1 hour 30 minutes, or 2 hours.

Thursday, September 2

Class
We had a short class.

Iceman and O.D. brought in a scene to read (for potential Showcase use). It was funny, but Head-of-Program cut them off halfway through. He said they were too young for the roles. Oh well. He did say that the tone was great, and that they're on the right track.

I was reminded to get on the Internet stuff.

We got a few more playwright suggestions to look into.


Fundraising
Everyone met at my house and we had a potluck, giving us a chance to talk about some matters at hand.

Primarily, we discussed fundraising whatnot that we're going to attempt throughout the year. We have a ton of ideas, which is great because we have huge goals. It was nice to have everyone there at once, so that we could attempt to get on the same page.

We also started discussing headshots and group photos. Two-Shots-Up has been doing research into it, which is awesome. It's tough, because people want different things out of their headshots. Additionally, we have different ideas of what an appropriate amount of money to spend on headshots is. So this might be a tough thing to get organized. *fingers crossed*

My Fellow Bloggers

My non-demanding schedule at the moment (which won't last for too much longer) gives me little to write about...

So I thought I'd remind you that I'm not the only blogger in my program.

Wifey wrote about our adventures in London here:
Lindsay Sees London

2nd-Year MD (who happens to be my roommate) blogged throughout her 1st-year in the program:
My MFA Journey

And 1st-Year BR has started a grad school blog, so you can follow his journey from the beginning:
An Actor Repairs


So now you can get filled in on the world of my program, even when my posts are few and far between. :)


All good things,

~A~

Friday, August 27

Today we had our first class. I don't even really know what this class is called, to be honest. We have it once a week. We discuss issues with showcase, the Rep season, and the business of being an actor. It's just the 3rd-years.

Traditionally, the class is held on Fridays from 9am-12pm (although it often gets shortened). But this year, Wifey and Newbie are teaching a class at a local high school some mornings. So some weeks our class will be scheduled on Thursday instead of Friday in order to accommodate their needs.

So here's basically discussed.


1. We all need to find scenes for Showcase.
- They should be 2-person scenes, and we will each do two of them.
- If someone wishes to sing in lieu of one of their scenes, they may. But they should only do that if they really want to put themselves into the casting pool of trained singers. (Our program is NOT a musical theatre program, so Head-of-Program doesn't seem ecstatic about the idea.)
- We got a huge list of playwrights to look into (which I have decided not to post, as I don't want to give away our leads; people in other grad programs can do their own research)
- The scenes should be from plays that are fairly recent and have not been performed much
- They should not be from shows that are currently running in NYC (or have had recent runs)
- Each scene should have a sharp and focused beginning, drive through the scene, and have a clear ending.
- The scenes should be well balanced and good for both partners.
- They should not be dark and dramatic, as that rarely plays well in a 3-minute scene.
- Look to show your range, but don't try to take leaps. We want to show what we're good at, not what we'd like to try.
- Not too dense.
- When asking for advice from people, ask for HONEST OBJECTIVE RESPONSES.

2. We have a lot of responsibilities to take on as a class
- Website for the class, including headshots/résumés (they assigned this one to me... I guess I shouldn't be surprised)
- Mailing List of casting directors/agents/theatres to be compiled from Ross reports (D-Train & O.D.)
- Communicate with the other theatre we partner with for Showcase, and also work on our Postcard design. (All-The-Way)
- Headshots! Research photographers, group rates, etc. (all of us)
- Group Photos for our postcard and other materials (Two-Shots-Up has done some modeling in the area and knows some edgy local photographers, so she's going to look into that)
- Get local Showcase well-attended (invite theatres/reps from Miami, Atlanta, etc.)
- Get other communities out to our NYC showcase (Newbie is going to work on New Jersey and Pennsylvania; I volunteered to do Connecticut)
- Set up an RSVP line (which we might be able to do through Skype... Does anyone know anything about that?)
- Figure out who we want as a graduation speaker
- Sort out a graduation brunch (we need at least 3 bids... and it's all about the $ for us)

3. Potential Other Showcase?
We're DEFINITELY doing a Showcase in NYC. But we've decided to also look into:
- Flying important agents out to see us here
- a Chicago Showcase
- a Los Angeles Showcase

4. Fundraising (which we'll ESPECIALLY need if we're having an extra showcase!)
We have a lot of ideas, but we're going to need even more.

Our first fundraiser is a Used Book Sale on September 6th, from 10:00am-2:00pm. (We're accepting book donations!) Add it to your calendars, all ye locals!


5. Head-of-Program is going to bring in people to talk to us throughout the year about the business...
- Equity stage managers
- agents & casting directors
- professional actors
- a Tony-winning director




And then we got an instruction from Head-of-Program to go forth and behave well. He said that this year, we are going to be working with people whom we want to hire us again. Additionally, the people we work with WILL talk about us with others in the future. He said that we're already great actors, and we will be able to prove that to them easily. Our task now is to be people that they will WANT to be with in a rehearsal room. We must always know the demands that are being made on us, and be able to achieve them in a non-aggressive, non-defensive, non-threatening, sociable way.

And then he said, "actually, with this group, I'm not worried about that."

I'm glad to hear it.


It's going to be a good year.


Much love,

~A~

Monday, August 23

Guess what, everybody...

I'm back!

Today was Orientation for all three classes. Part of me can't believe that it was my third time through this... But I clearly remember the last two times, so most of me was on board with the concept.

My rehearsals don't start until September 17th. Until then, I'll just be having one class a week, which focuses on preparing for our New York Showcase in the Spring.

Yes, that's right. One class a week. That's it.

After two years of busy schedules, I'm not exactly used to taking it slow.

Orientation was pretty much exactly what it has been in the past. We elected two new class representatives (D-Train & O.D. volunteered). We got the lecture about hurricane safety. We got a quick rundown of all of the expectations placed upon us. And I made a special request of Head of Program to tell us one more time that "the future of the American Theatre is in this room," as he has the last two years (although I have a feeling he would've done it without my request).

I can't believe I'm a third year. But somehow it isn't hard for me to believe that the 1st-years have become 2nd-years. Maybe it's just because I have a brand new group to refer to as 1st-years (who are all delightful, by the by). But somehow my own progress seems more insane.

I survived my first year. I survived my 2nd-year. I made it through London. And now I'm in the final stretch. From where I'm standing now, it almost feels like a victory lap.

I know there's a lot of work ahead, but it seems like everything is winding down. I'm not sure how to feel about that, yet.

I'm off to read Deathtrap. It's the only show in the season that I haven't read yet. I want to make sure I know what it's about in case I end up understudying it. (I've read the first scene so far, and I think I might request to understudy it. It seems like a great show.)


Much love, my long-lost blog readers.

~A~