Returning from Silence

I am typing this on my brand new computer. My last computer, the incredible Lady MacBook, passed away. But now that I have a new one, I figured today is a good day to catch up on blogging.


Antigone Now
Antigone Now was a crazy, crazy ride. In about 5 weeks, we did 41 performances of our show. We performed it all over.

Places like:
- high school gymnasiums
- college classrooms
- one high school classroom/hallway
- high school theatres/auditoriums
- college theatres
- our own theatre
- a botanical garden
- a museum gallery
- a museum courtyard (next to a manatee tank)
- a furniture store

I joked that when we started the tour, we were at "beginner" level, and the difficulty kept increasing. By the end, we were most definitely experts.

Challenges that were thrown at us included:
- Small spaces
- HUGE spaces
- low ceilings
- a set that was screwed into a high school stage, which we had to keep jumping over
- a REALLY loud air conditioning system in a high school gym
- a temperamental sound system that sometimes didn't work at the top of the show (which is when we have a sound cue of gunfire that we're supposed to be taking cover from... yeah, that was interesting)
- hot outdoor locations (and we were wearing trenchcoats)
- a tree that kept throwing nuts at us
- one transformative performance space with moveable walls (kind of like the theatrical version of The Room of Requirement from Harry Potter)
- audiences that meowed/laughed/yelled/heckled/texted/popped gum/etc.

And, one challenge that I faced:
Wifey got sick, and with about 40 minutes before call time, I learned that I would be playing her role. I memorized the lines in the van on the way there. I ended up playing her role for 5 performances while she recuperated. And I led the talkbacks for about a week or so past that.

All in all, the tour was a great experience. I learned a lot from it. I had touring experience. I had performed for young audiences. But what I really got a lot out of was the experience of fringe-style performance spaces. Having to adapt our show to each new space on the fly was really neat as a performer. It kept things fresh, even after all those performances.

For sake of comparison...
I'm going to be in Boeing Boeing later this season. It opens in January and runs through April. There will be a total of 28 performances (and I believe that's the longest run in the Rep this season). So 41 performances in 5 weeks? Intense.

I love my class. We did a great job of banding together and working everything out.


Talks
My program has been bringing in people to talk with us about the industry, which is awesome.

A couple of weeks ago, it was Steve Rankin, who got his MFA at my Conservatory and now has a successful career in Los Angeles.

This past week, it was a double header: Hal Linden (aka Barney Miller) and Tim Jerome, both of whom have had great Broadway careers.

Hal Linden graciously signed my 1962 Off-Broadway cast recording of Anything Goes, in which he played Billy Crocker. That recording was the first tape I bought with my own money, back when I was in 4th grade. I listened to it so much that I actually warped the tape. I can't tell you how many times I've sung duets with him on "You're the Top", singing along with the late great Eileen Rodgers.

It's interesting to hear people talk about the industry, although it also generally feels intimidating. So much of the positivity that has graced their lives seems to involve crazy luck. I'm praying that I fall into some of that luck myself.

But they've also had some good advice. Steve Rankin talked about how you have to mentally separate people who work in the industry into "buyers" and "sellers", which was enlightening.



Bonnie & Clyde
Last night was the opening of Bonnie & Clyde, which is a huge, Broadway-quality (and hopefully Broadway-bound) musical. I've seen it in rehearsals and previews. It's really fantastic. And the opening was a lot of fun.

Before the show started, the marketing department asked Two-Shots-Up and me to don period clothing from the Costume Shop and pose outside the theatre in front of some old fashioned cars. People occasionally asked to get their pictures taken with us. I had a good time.


Class
I brought a scene into class yesterday, but Head-Of-Program wasn't crazy about it. Several people have been bringing in scenes. I had one a few weeks back that seems promising, but the ending isn't great... Head-Of-Program said he'll look at re-cutting it for me.


Boeing Boeing
Rehearsals for Boeing Boeing, the next show I'm in, begin on December 14th. I have an Italian Accent lesson with Voice Professor on Tuesday. I've been listening to Paul Meier and trying to learn it on my own. But the Director (aka Head-Of-Program) says he wants my character to be adroit with English, and effortlessly multilingual... which means the dialect I've been working with is far too thick. Last year, I studied dialects as opposed to accents (which means I learned how native English speakers pronounce things in other areas, like NYC and the UK; I have not learned how people who learn English as a second language pronounce things...). Voice Professor says it's the same process of study, but it seems different in my head. It seems as though there would be greater room for variation. I guess I'll find out next week.

Antigone Now: Things We Travel With

- 2 vans (one with 4 rows of seats, one gutted to hold our stuff)

- 1 Stage Manager

- 9 actors (or 8, when Wifey was out sick)

- 9 costumes

- 9 metal chairs

- 1 silver trunk (containing gaff tape, rubber gloves, wipes, scissors, and the like)

- 1 container of black face paint

- 1 sound board/sound system

- 1 crate of wires, on a dolly

- 2 speakers

- 1 monitor

- 2 banners (one with the name of the theatre, one with the name of the play)

- 1 microphone

- 1 mic stand

- 1 music stand (for the SM)

- 1 First Aid kit

- occasionally some lighting equipment

We do our load-in/load-out ourselves.

"Message That Still Connects Today"

Yes. Another article about Antigone Now. We're totally famous.

Message that still connects today

Iceman as Creon

Two-Shots-Up as Antigone

Antigone Now: Education & Outreach

This is a video that was made before we started touring. But I thought it might still be worth watching.

Antigone Now Can Be Performed Anywhere!

If you're a reader of this blog from a distance and have never met me, this video might be the first time you get to hear me speak. So, um, nice to meet you!

Antigone Now Director

Here's the director of Antigone Now, talking about our production.

'Antigone Now' Packs a Powerful Punch

Our first review! And the first time that I've made it into a photograph in a review!

REVIEW: 'Antigone Now' Packs a Powerful Punch

'Antigone' Hits the Road

I know I'm behind on posting our tour craziness...

So here's an article on us, so that you can feel caught up until I can do some back-posting.

'Antigone' Hits the Road

The Ode to Man

My friend Angel gave this to me several weeks ago while we were still in rehearsals for Antigone Now, so I thought I would pass it on. It was published in The New Yorker, August 16 & 23, 2010 (page 78).



THE "ODE TO MAN" FROM SOPHOCLES' ANTIGONE

Many terribly quiet customers exist but none more
terribly quiet than Man:
his footsteps pass so perilously soft across the sea
in marble winter,
up the stiff blue waves and every Tuesday
down he grinds the unastonishable earth
with horse and shatter.

Shatters too the cheeks of birds and traps them in his forest headlights,
salty silvers roll into his net, he weaves it just for that,
this terribly quiet customer.
He dooms
animals and mountains technically,
by yoke he makes the bull bend, the horse to its knees.

And utterance and thought as clear as complicated air and
moods that make a city moral, these he taught himself.
The snowy cold he knows to flee
and every human exigency crackles as he plugs it in:
every outlet works but
one.
Death stays dark.

Death he cannot doom.
Fabrications notwithstanding.
Evil,
good,
laws,
gods,
honest oath taking notwithstanding.

Hilarious in his high city
you see him cantering just as he please,
the lava up to here.

- Anne Carson

Saturday, October 2

Antigone Now


At this point, we're all just exhausted. We're working through the entire show about three times a day, and it's emotionally exhausting.

It's also really hard on our bodies and our voices. We're well-trained (thank GOD!), so we're being as careful as we can be, but this takes its toll anyway. We sit on metal chairs motionless. We stand motionless. We kneel. And I scream half of my lines. It's intense.

I've been hydrating more than usual (I usually hit 10 cups of water a day) and eating honey. I've been resting my voice whenever possible. I've been lying down whenever I get a chance. But it's tough.

Director said today that we need to be more consistent in our emotional connections during the play. I think that right now, we just really need a day off (which, fortunately, we get tomorrow.)


~A~

Friday, October 1

It's October? Seriously? How did that happen?


Class

I read a scene with All-the-Way that I used for a competition when I was in undergrad. Head-of-Program seemed to like it (and thought that it was a particularly good fit for me), so he said to keep it around as a possibility. I have to tell you, I felt AWESOME about that.

All-the-Way & O.D. did a scene that was quite funny, but Head-of-Program thought it was too prop-heavy to bring to Showcase. He also said that he thinks someone has suggested this scene every year, and they always have to rule it out in the end.

Thrill & Iceman did a scene that required too much background information.

Two-Shots-Up & Wifey did a scene (perhaps the only non-comedic scene that anyone has brought in thus far). It was a good scene, but Head-of-Program didn't think it was evenly split between the two characters.

Killer & All-the-Way did a scene that Head-of-Program liked, but he thought it wasn't right for All-the-Way. He said to hold onto it, and maybe try it again in the future with Wifey.

Dude, this is complicated.

We've been having conversations about headshot photography as a class, but it's complicated. We have different ideas about what headshots should be (and how much they should cost). And we all have different schedules. I don't know how this is going to work out. I'm praying that we have a good solution for everyone.


Antigone Now

My notes include:

- The 1st prologue was weak

- After Creon's intro, move with motivation, not just because we're obediently following our blocking ;)

- By "naturalistic", our director seems to mean "struggle to come up with the words you're about to say"

- During the prayer, get more charged as it goes

- The final run (of three) was the best run we've done so far

- We shouldn't be working to make a word into something that it already is (or, as the director put it, "making butter buttery")

- Change the word "mama" to "mother". Change the word "daddy" to "father".

- After the prayer, get determined on the lift
(we all come together to lift Two-Shots-Up in a crazy cool way)

Thursday, September 30

Antigone Now

Voice Professor has attended some of our rehearsals as our vocal coach. Here are some of the notes I've gotten from her:

- On the line "We're through with wailing": grabbing in the throat. Remember expansion in heightened emotion and when increasing volume.

- Be cautious of glottal attacks on initial vowels. It sounds find, but it's stressful on the voice.

- Use final "z" sounds. Especially in lines like, "Crossing rivers and oceans, cities and ruins, mountains and plains...", and "He makes cities where there was swamp and wheat fields where there was forest. He builds factories where there was jungle and mighty freeways where the prairies stretched."

Wednesday, September 29

Antigone Now

We started rehearsal early, in a brand new space.

Because this is a touring show, we have to get used to performing it in all sorts of different spaces. And today, we tried one out.

In mid-October, we will be performing on the second floor of a museum, in what is sometimes used as a gallery. It's a huge, echoing chamber of a room. They will be putting in a platform for us to use as a stage. But we have a much shallower space to work in than we're used to. So we had to change some of our blocking. And I kept wandering off the edge of the stage (which is not yet clearly marked). Whoops!

My notes included:

- Don't fall off the stage!!!

- When doing "Desire" speech, align self with DSR corner of the square

- Back up when doing Creon speech chair rotation.

- x US of Newbie on "Poor Babies" line.


That sort of thing.


We're going to have to do this (to some extent) in EVERY new space before performing. It's going to be insane.

Tuesday, September 28

Antigone Now

Here are my notes from today's run (from Voice Professor):

- Don't give up on your text when someone is cutting you off. Your line is still important. Don't drop volume. Don't anticipate being cut off.

- On the word "lost", don't glottal stop. Make sure to plode the "t".

- My "Aphrodite" monologue was "exemplary".

- In general, using voice very well.



We talked briefly about things that we should expect while touring the show. We are expected to always carry an ID. Some of the schools are doing background checks on us. Luckily, I think we're all pretty safe.

Sunday, September 26th

LATE NIGHTS

There are 2 performances of Red Light Winter today. By the time you read this, you'll still be able to make it the the 8pm performance tonight (Sunday). It's free, and it's excellent. I have a brief cameo in the pre-show, so come say hello.

There was a performance on Friday night that was extremely well-attended. The space only seats about 60 people, so we had a standing-room-only situation, and had to (sadly) turn some people away. I hope they can make it tonight.

It's a seriously great show. Iceman directed it, and it stars All-the-Way, D-Train, and Killer. Come if you can. It's worth seeing.

(Note: This show has nudity and sexual content.)



ANTIGONE NOW
Rehearsals have been going fairly well, except that half the cast is under the weather.

The show was fully blocked by Tuesday. It's a short play, so we made it through quite quickly. Now, we're mostly just running it and doing work-throughs.



UNDERSTUDYING
As a 3rd-year, I have understudy responsibilities for the Rep, just as I did in my 1st-year. Our understudy assignments were posted on Friday, which it felt like we'd been waiting for forever.

I'm understudying the Queen Mother/Mother Superior in Las Meninas (bonus: the actress playing those roles is my 2nd-year Acting Professoressa! How cool is that?). I'm also understudying a role in Deathtrap: a Hungarian psychic named Helga. You may have heard about Deathtrap recently, as it just opened on the West End (and there's a decent chance that it will be transferring to Broadway) starring Jonathan Groff (of Spring Awakening and Glee fame). Our theatre magically got the rights to do it JUST BEFORE the rights were locked up by the West End production. So we are the only other theatre (that I know of) that is being allowed to do it this season. So that's kind of cool. I'm really excited for my understudy roles.

And you know what else is kind of awesome? Someone is understudying ME this year! One of the 1st-years is understudying me in two different shows in the season. I've never had an understudy before. Ever. This is crazy.

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.