I got myself into another production.
It's one of those ones you would see at church on the Sunday before Easter where all the kids are staring dumbfounded at the audience, and not exactly paying attention to the motions to the song (with heavy clarinet, and the slickest, awkwardest jazz you've ever heard). It's called Amerikids (!!!) and the fact of the matter is that it's been a while since I've enjoyed theatre this much.
I have the greatest honor working with an actress named Maria (Childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). She is WAY TOO TALENTED for words. She went to school for theatre in Lebanon. Take a moment and let that sink in. We are blocking/loosening up our young actors, cracking them open so that they give a sincere, realistic, entertaining performance. There is something about that that makes chills go down my spine. And as I was explaining the significance of what they are doing onstage, something inside of me melted.
And at that moment, I knew exactly what I needed to do.
I think...I THINK...that this might be what I should do for the rest of my life.
Advertisement: Come to the Cascade Business Park this Friday and Saturday for our performances. 7:00 Curtain. Let the games begin...
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Mighty Wooden Arms
The stage might just be the scariest place in the theatre.
I remember my very first audition when I was a wee lass of only 13. Those three stairs up onto that alien platform nearly killed me. I was absolutely terrified. And then, in one moment, after it was over, I looked up at that tiny stage that had nearly done me in, and we became friends.
The stage was designed so that everyone in the audience could sit comfortably and have the actor in complete view. So, even when you are standing on an empty stage in a silent theatre, you still have 400 vacated seats staring up at you! It honestly gives me a rush, but I remember the first time: I was exposed and insecure.
But...the stage only exists so you can stand on it.
Every motion you make, word you say, or note you sing is amplified, and supported by the wooden stage beneath you. The stage is never your enemy, it is always your ally. On it, you face fears, and offer up the art that has been practiced for centuries. The stage doesn't coddle you, and there is no place to hide. So, the only solution is to conquer.
When you step on the stage, STOMP the first time!
While you are onstage, it obeys you. You create the world. You have the right to command the scene and take it along with you on a tangent. And the stage will hold you up with it's "mighty wooden arms".
The stage is yours. OWN IT.
I remember my very first audition when I was a wee lass of only 13. Those three stairs up onto that alien platform nearly killed me. I was absolutely terrified. And then, in one moment, after it was over, I looked up at that tiny stage that had nearly done me in, and we became friends.
The stage was designed so that everyone in the audience could sit comfortably and have the actor in complete view. So, even when you are standing on an empty stage in a silent theatre, you still have 400 vacated seats staring up at you! It honestly gives me a rush, but I remember the first time: I was exposed and insecure.
But...the stage only exists so you can stand on it.
Every motion you make, word you say, or note you sing is amplified, and supported by the wooden stage beneath you. The stage is never your enemy, it is always your ally. On it, you face fears, and offer up the art that has been practiced for centuries. The stage doesn't coddle you, and there is no place to hide. So, the only solution is to conquer.
When you step on the stage, STOMP the first time!
While you are onstage, it obeys you. You create the world. You have the right to command the scene and take it along with you on a tangent. And the stage will hold you up with it's "mighty wooden arms".
The stage is yours. OWN IT.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Rule #2 of Acting: Don't Be a Diva
I was in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang once. It was supposed to be a really impressive, technically challenging, supremely acted, thoroughly-rehearsed musical extravaganza that would make Dick Van Dyke proud. In the end, looking back, it certainly was an extravaganza...but maybe not the kind that we would have liked to produce.
(Quick aside to the the NWTG people who may be reading this: I loved CCBB, it was a fantastic cast and wonderful production crew, and we put SO MUCH work into it. It's something that I'm proud of, this is just some healthy criticism. Thanks. Please cast me again. :) )
There are two things I wished I could have changed about the whole experience (so, of course, these are things I could never have affected): the first I will tell you at some other time, but the second was the extreme Public Displays of Diva (PDD).
Some of our most influential leads (not all, just some) WOULD NOT take direction. They blatantly refused to change the way they had originally acted or sang. They arrived whenever they felt like showing up at rehearsals. At one point, one stormed off the stage because of a unfortunately timed comment on how they should improve. IMPROVE. It not only created a sense of disunity in the cast, it made me not even want to speak to them when we were backstage.
My advice if you are of the Diva Persuasion: Stop right where you are. Consider your cast and crew, and try not to be a brat. No one likes working with people when they are full angst and cockiness. In a phrase,
If you are doing it for attention, DON'T DO IT.
(Quick aside to the the NWTG people who may be reading this: I loved CCBB, it was a fantastic cast and wonderful production crew, and we put SO MUCH work into it. It's something that I'm proud of, this is just some healthy criticism. Thanks. Please cast me again. :) )
There are two things I wished I could have changed about the whole experience (so, of course, these are things I could never have affected): the first I will tell you at some other time, but the second was the extreme Public Displays of Diva (PDD).
Some of our most influential leads (not all, just some) WOULD NOT take direction. They blatantly refused to change the way they had originally acted or sang. They arrived whenever they felt like showing up at rehearsals. At one point, one stormed off the stage because of a unfortunately timed comment on how they should improve. IMPROVE. It not only created a sense of disunity in the cast, it made me not even want to speak to them when we were backstage.
My advice if you are of the Diva Persuasion: Stop right where you are. Consider your cast and crew, and try not to be a brat. No one likes working with people when they are full angst and cockiness. In a phrase,
If you are doing it for attention, DON'T DO IT.
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