I need more creative titles.
We do six shows in four days: 1 Thursday night, 2 on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and 1 on Sunday afternoon. It's quite a feat! The audiences really seemed to enjoy our performances this weekend. It's great.
Today, we had a special event called "Sunday Salon," in which an invited guest comes to discuss some topic that deals with the show. Today we heard some WWII stories. One couple was invited to explain how they used song titles as a code system. If "White Christmas" was mentioned in a letter, the wife knew her husband was in Hawaii. "I'll Be Seeing" you meant he was in Japan and so forth. It was very clever and never censored! Other people chimed in from the audience, sharing their stories from the war and using the radio as a means for entertainment and news.
It's great to hear these accounts. There were lots of tears in the room during the salon. This medium has a powerful impact on people. I think this show takes many by surprise.
Yesterday, we had a rehearsal look-back. The cast gathered with the artistic director and discussed how the rehearsal process went. We expressed what we loved, what was frustrating, how we grew as artists, etc. It was interesting to hear what people had to say. I won't go into details, but it's great that we had an honest conversation about what worked and what didn't. Hopefully what didn't work out so well can be remedied for future shows of this nature and others. We're constantly learning in this company, which I appreciate. We'll also have a production look-back or post-mortem to examine similar elements (outside of rehearsals, obviously).
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GRAD SCHOOL COUNTDOWN
I'll be auditioning for grad schools in less than two months.
Tonight, I'll be lookin' over Shakespeare stuff. I've got a bit of anxiety about choosing the right Shakespeare monologues. I'm looking at the ingenues, which just seem to be so cliche, but with my age and looks, that's my options (it's just weird to me to think I may end up working on Romeo's lines). There's a lot of Shakespeare that I haven't read. So I'm trying to find a good balance of working with what I know and stretching beyond that a bit. As much as I enjoy Shakespeare, I can't just sit and read it for long periods of time. I need to speak it and hear it. The problem is that time is ticking and I've got some finalized decisions that need to be made sooner rather than later. I aim to have a list picked out by Tuesday (probably of five or so monologues).
I do have my contemporary monologues. One is Alan from Picnic and the other is Pip from Three Days of Rain (which may be a bit too old for me, but it's got such a great amount of energy and humor, and I genuinely love the piece)
Showing posts with label 1940's Radio Hour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1940's Radio Hour. Show all posts
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving
Whew. I just had Thanksgiving fun (traveling and eating) mixed in with opening a show and doing five performances in three days. It's tiring work to say the least. Add in some sickness recovery and you've got the potential for griping.
But that has all been wiped away.
I'm grateful for all the friends, family, talent, and opportunities I've had this year. It's been concentrated in the past few days. I've realized how much I enjoy talking to audience members. There are some outstanding, generous, and very smart subscribers and donors who love having a dialogue and relationship with the company members. Today, after our matinee, there was a mini reception and I had the opportunity to chat with some supporters who truly adore the work we do here. It's humbling.
It's not about receiving accolades and praise. It's realizing that the work I'm doing in this ensemble is making an impact on the lives of these people. That's why they keep coming back and bringing friends. Yes, it's entertaining, but it's sustaining and revitalizing people.
1940's Radio Hour has the potential to veer toward fluffy "deadly" theatre as Peter Brook would call it. But our production has some deeper elements and I think we're giving a nod to that pretty well. There's alcoholism and war content that broadens the scope and transports people in the audience, whether they were alive during the 40's, part of World War II, or any part of the military period (past and present)--okay, not so much the drinking bit, but it interrupts the radio show within the show for a little bit.
Initially, I wasn't a "fan" of this show, but the more I spend time with it and understand how much it has been affecting audiences and company members, the more I realize this stuff is important. It won't be too long before the folks of the 40's will be gone. This is a tribute to their times, which have plenty of ties to today. And theatre has a unique ability to link all of that together and aid in transporting people to places they weren't intending to go initially. It creates moments of transcendence--whether it's for five seconds, five minutes, or the entire show.
I've managed to feel that while attending shows (but it doesn't happen too frequently since I've got my eye on the acting and other production elements), but those striking moments kind of bash you over the head and feed the soul in ways you can't quite figure out. Art, particularly theatre in this case, changes lives.
But that has all been wiped away.
I'm grateful for all the friends, family, talent, and opportunities I've had this year. It's been concentrated in the past few days. I've realized how much I enjoy talking to audience members. There are some outstanding, generous, and very smart subscribers and donors who love having a dialogue and relationship with the company members. Today, after our matinee, there was a mini reception and I had the opportunity to chat with some supporters who truly adore the work we do here. It's humbling.
It's not about receiving accolades and praise. It's realizing that the work I'm doing in this ensemble is making an impact on the lives of these people. That's why they keep coming back and bringing friends. Yes, it's entertaining, but it's sustaining and revitalizing people.
1940's Radio Hour has the potential to veer toward fluffy "deadly" theatre as Peter Brook would call it. But our production has some deeper elements and I think we're giving a nod to that pretty well. There's alcoholism and war content that broadens the scope and transports people in the audience, whether they were alive during the 40's, part of World War II, or any part of the military period (past and present)--okay, not so much the drinking bit, but it interrupts the radio show within the show for a little bit.
Initially, I wasn't a "fan" of this show, but the more I spend time with it and understand how much it has been affecting audiences and company members, the more I realize this stuff is important. It won't be too long before the folks of the 40's will be gone. This is a tribute to their times, which have plenty of ties to today. And theatre has a unique ability to link all of that together and aid in transporting people to places they weren't intending to go initially. It creates moments of transcendence--whether it's for five seconds, five minutes, or the entire show.
I've managed to feel that while attending shows (but it doesn't happen too frequently since I've got my eye on the acting and other production elements), but those striking moments kind of bash you over the head and feed the soul in ways you can't quite figure out. Art, particularly theatre in this case, changes lives.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Enter: Tech Week
We're in tech week. The last time I had tech was for The Rainmaker, which is a 2.5 hour long romance/comedy (or "romantice" as it said on the cover of our scripts). It's not a show that requires a lot of technical wizardry.
The 1940's Radio Hour is an entirely different beast. We've got three microphones (well, four, actually) and a different playing space than what we've been using all year. It's a bit more proscenium-y and less thrust-y. BUT we are using the entire house of the theatre (stairways and booths and audience seating).
The music is canned, so it's all pre-recorded. And the cast changes which mics they sing in throughout the show.
Needless to say, our entire world has been rocked slightly.
This afternoon was a slow four-hour spacing rehearsal. We just marked the show and finessed blocking and traffic patterns. No music, no tech, just getting used to the stage. Previous to this, we've been in the rehearsal hall, pretending there were levels when we were just acting on a single flat surface. Now, we're in the actual theatre space, using doors and staircases and the mini stage for our radio show. It's exciting, but slow-going work.
Tonight was a music/sound night. It's complicated, and I got a little frustrated at one point. It got hard for me to loosen up during a duet song I sing. I don't do well with compartmentalized information. I'll get a technical/music note and then get an acting kind of note right after that and it's difficult for me to combine the two. Plus, there's a small dance break. I knew tonight wasn't about performing; I was trying to be extra-sensitive about the monitors and mic levels and how I had to work with the mic. So I let the performing attitudes slide and I think that was rather detrimental. I was just going through the motions so that I could pay attention to the sound. Not everyone else was buying into that and it was just kind of a muddled mess.
The weirdest thing happened also: I had absolutely no energy at the beginning of the rehearsal. Once I was finished with the duet section, I had a bit of a break. I just sat down and read a bit of a magazine. Then, for whatever reason, this jolt of energy happened. We did the tap number and that was very energizing for the end of the rehearsal. Right when I was hitting a good stride, the rehearsal was over and we got a note to come back tomorrow ready to go.
I know a lot of this has to do with trekking up to the Cities for a day and hanging out with friends really late at night. I'm a bit behind on sleep right now, so I should just rest up now and get a good breakfast in, because (like they say in the song "Strike Up the Band"):
There is work to be done, to be done!
But I also need to figure out how to get jazzed about this work from the very beginning.
The 1940's Radio Hour is an entirely different beast. We've got three microphones (well, four, actually) and a different playing space than what we've been using all year. It's a bit more proscenium-y and less thrust-y. BUT we are using the entire house of the theatre (stairways and booths and audience seating).
The music is canned, so it's all pre-recorded. And the cast changes which mics they sing in throughout the show.
Needless to say, our entire world has been rocked slightly.
This afternoon was a slow four-hour spacing rehearsal. We just marked the show and finessed blocking and traffic patterns. No music, no tech, just getting used to the stage. Previous to this, we've been in the rehearsal hall, pretending there were levels when we were just acting on a single flat surface. Now, we're in the actual theatre space, using doors and staircases and the mini stage for our radio show. It's exciting, but slow-going work.
Tonight was a music/sound night. It's complicated, and I got a little frustrated at one point. It got hard for me to loosen up during a duet song I sing. I don't do well with compartmentalized information. I'll get a technical/music note and then get an acting kind of note right after that and it's difficult for me to combine the two. Plus, there's a small dance break. I knew tonight wasn't about performing; I was trying to be extra-sensitive about the monitors and mic levels and how I had to work with the mic. So I let the performing attitudes slide and I think that was rather detrimental. I was just going through the motions so that I could pay attention to the sound. Not everyone else was buying into that and it was just kind of a muddled mess.
The weirdest thing happened also: I had absolutely no energy at the beginning of the rehearsal. Once I was finished with the duet section, I had a bit of a break. I just sat down and read a bit of a magazine. Then, for whatever reason, this jolt of energy happened. We did the tap number and that was very energizing for the end of the rehearsal. Right when I was hitting a good stride, the rehearsal was over and we got a note to come back tomorrow ready to go.
I know a lot of this has to do with trekking up to the Cities for a day and hanging out with friends really late at night. I'm a bit behind on sleep right now, so I should just rest up now and get a good breakfast in, because (like they say in the song "Strike Up the Band"):
There is work to be done, to be done!
But I also need to figure out how to get jazzed about this work from the very beginning.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
On to the next show...
Whew - I'm pretty exhausted. I've been working quite a bit in the theatre, only non-acting duties:
--box office shifts
--some office work for education and development
--house managing
--cleaning
--tracking line notes for the opening of A MIDNIGHT DREARY, which is a world premiere play about Edgar Allan Poe (it opens tonight, Halloween).
Doing line notes requires me to be on book and keeping track of what the actors say. If they flub anything, I note it. If they switch words or sentences around, I make a note. I certainly make a note if they call for line. I only did this for three runs (1 tech run and 1 dress rehearsals). It's tricky. I had an electronic copy and was glued to my computer for a good two hours. Meanwhile, ghouls and nightmares appear on stage. Spectres of Poe's work is projected on the stage. The lights are great. Nearly the entire show is underscored. It's very spectacle-heavy, but I can't quite comment on the effect of the show. But it feels like I know so many of the lines already. Anyway, I'm eager to see the show without having to worry about anything else.
I'm pumped for the opening night party tonight. I don't have a costume or anything, but I'll probably get all schnazzy.
Yesterday, I had a short choreography rehearsal for The 1940's Radio Hour. There's not a ton of dancing, but some. Biff and Connie sing this great duet together. A dance break is part of it. There was the smallest, TINY, bit of a dip that we do and I completely dropped my dance partner. I don't have a single excuse other than we were just marking it. She started to dip, and I wasn't ready to support her. Needless to say, Connie slid agonizingly slow out of my arms and on to the floor. She wasn't hurt, but now she and the rest of the cast has plenty of fodder that I can never live down for the rest of my life....
Afterwards, we worked on music. I should've warmed up. That's one strange thing about this professional world. You don't have a voice teacher or someone leading the group in vocal warmups. I'm going to have to be way more diligent about getting the voice back up to speed.
We have a read-through/sing-through of the show tomorrow. It's the first script rehearsal.
I also hear there's going to be lots of Viewpoints exercises. I've read bits and pieces about Viewpoints from Anne Bogart's book, but I've never implemented it or done any of them before. I'll let you know how it goes.
(Man, I have GOT to get off book with these songs...deadlines are creeping up on me...)
--box office shifts
--some office work for education and development
--house managing
--cleaning
--tracking line notes for the opening of A MIDNIGHT DREARY, which is a world premiere play about Edgar Allan Poe (it opens tonight, Halloween).
Doing line notes requires me to be on book and keeping track of what the actors say. If they flub anything, I note it. If they switch words or sentences around, I make a note. I certainly make a note if they call for line. I only did this for three runs (1 tech run and 1 dress rehearsals). It's tricky. I had an electronic copy and was glued to my computer for a good two hours. Meanwhile, ghouls and nightmares appear on stage. Spectres of Poe's work is projected on the stage. The lights are great. Nearly the entire show is underscored. It's very spectacle-heavy, but I can't quite comment on the effect of the show. But it feels like I know so many of the lines already. Anyway, I'm eager to see the show without having to worry about anything else.
I'm pumped for the opening night party tonight. I don't have a costume or anything, but I'll probably get all schnazzy.
Yesterday, I had a short choreography rehearsal for The 1940's Radio Hour. There's not a ton of dancing, but some. Biff and Connie sing this great duet together. A dance break is part of it. There was the smallest, TINY, bit of a dip that we do and I completely dropped my dance partner. I don't have a single excuse other than we were just marking it. She started to dip, and I wasn't ready to support her. Needless to say, Connie slid agonizingly slow out of my arms and on to the floor. She wasn't hurt, but now she and the rest of the cast has plenty of fodder that I can never live down for the rest of my life....
Afterwards, we worked on music. I should've warmed up. That's one strange thing about this professional world. You don't have a voice teacher or someone leading the group in vocal warmups. I'm going to have to be way more diligent about getting the voice back up to speed.
We have a read-through/sing-through of the show tomorrow. It's the first script rehearsal.
I also hear there's going to be lots of Viewpoints exercises. I've read bits and pieces about Viewpoints from Anne Bogart's book, but I've never implemented it or done any of them before. I'll let you know how it goes.
(Man, I have GOT to get off book with these songs...deadlines are creeping up on me...)
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