I've got a picture

Here's a teaser publicity photo we took today.



We're getting closer and closer to tech and all that.

I hope people come to this show. It's not a downer the whole time, I promise.

We did a run today. It went well; I think. There were some moments that really surprised me. We've got a couple days off. I'll be reviewing lines and some spotty sections. I can't wait to add the music and lights, and I love the suit I get to wear.

Later.

February melts away

I've been silent quite a bit. Part of that is from working hard on the apprentice project. We've got our own blog, so I'll point you to that. I'm playing the role of Death, but I'm also in charge of marketing it. This means scheduling media appearances, sending out press releases, I designed the poster, I post the event on various websites. It's a lot of work.

http://ctcapprenticeproject.wordpress.com/

So if you'd like to hear more about that project, I suggest you pay a visit. You'll get some perspectives from the other members of the team. I think it's been pretty successful. Now I just hope people come to the show.

Last weekend I saw Macbeth at the Guthrie and then Eurydice at Prospero Theatre Company. It's a brand-new theatre that has been started by friends from college. They are a great crew of people and put on a lovely show with literally nothing. Last Saturday, I saw theatre that had some of the highest production values (like a $800 wig for Lady MacBeth) to none. Each had stunning moments.

I had a friend who was an essential in MacBeth (it's the Guthrie's way of saying "extra"). He showed me around backstage. It's mind-boggling. There are tunnels and hallways and rooms all over the place. It's hard to keep track of it all. That building is gigantic.

Today, I've got a much-needed day off. It's my first true one that has no obligations. I've caught up on Lost. I'm sipping on coffee. I'll probably do some reading today. We're off book next week for the show, so that means I'll need to dive in and get some monologues under my belt both today and tomorrow. This will require more work than I'm willing to admit. I don't have a method save for wandering around the house and speaking the text. It's archaic language. I'll probably write them out. We'll see what happens.

We did a run yesterday. There were some great moments and some shoddier ones. But I think we're on an excellent track. We open in three weeks.

And February is nearly over. It was almost a month ago that I was in Chicago. I've not really heard anything from schools, so it feels like a bust at the moment. I'll keep my eyes peeled in the next week, but I'm not holding my breath. And...well...I've got a commitment this year. So....I won't say anymore.

Instead, I think I'll start tackling some lines. I've got work to do NOW. I've got three shows lined up for this year--each role is vastly different than the other. I'm a working actor right now. I can't complain, ya know?

Getting a grip on Death

My brother wants me to update this. So I'm going to.

I've been busy lately (surprise, surprise). Actually, Tuesday was one of the first days where I felt like I was back in college, having way too much on my plate. I also felt the ground shake a bit (in a figurative sense). There have just been little hints that I'm poor poor poor with minute details that have pretty major consequences when you forget about them.

Exhibit A: I wait tables on occasion. I worked at a new restaurant last weekend. We can't process credit cards electronically at the moment. So I manually write them down. In my efforts to be on top of things, I failed to write down the last four digits of a patron's credit card (a ticket that was over 90 dollars). I'm not quite sure what's going to happen.

I'm out of that funk right now.

The office was ZANY today. I've got loads of projects to do. Marketing work is exhausting and ranges from very simple phone calls to more elaborate projects that require brainstorming, planning, executing, delegation, follow up. It's a zoo.

Not to mention, I've got long evening rehearsal blocks for one of the most challenging shows I've ever been a part of. This show has only three characters. We're done with blocking and now we're about to embark on heavy working sessions.

I'm a little anxious. I think it's going to be intense. At the end of rehearsal today, the director told me: "be prepared to smile a lot tomorrow. You're probably going to hear that more than you even want to." This is a perplexing note to me. For one, I've received a note like that for a lot of shows I've been in. I get all freaked out. It's weird. I won't dive into all of it. But this is an odd note that makes me more self-conscious than it should.

And now, this pertains to Death. I think about this character, smile, and feel...strange. Like the Joker or something. There's something menacing and intriguing about it all. A lingering unease pops up here and there.

It's a trip to play Death, ya know?

I've surprised myself at some of the ideas I've had about "scenes" and moments. Much more work has to be done (including memorization), but I think we've made some excellent progress in the past week. We did a slop-thru today, just to focus on blocking. It's pretty demanding. I imagine it will only become more epic

Debrief from Chicago

I'm back from Chicago.
I haven't unpacked yet.
I cannot wait to sleep in tomorrow.

This trip was exhausting. I seriously underestimated the mental and physical drain it took. Perhaps that's my own fault; it's hard to tell.

I'm certainly glad I attended the U/RTA auditions. I made it to the final round, had a few private interviews/auditions. The final round didn't go so hot. So that was frustrating (I don't think it was terrible, but I know I've done better--I did like four times the previous day).

The day before final rounds, however, was a success. I met with some schools and the sessions with directors were fascinating. It was fun to explore acting and such with complete strangers. That was awesome. I felt like I was making breakthroughs. I didn't have time to think or sift through information, which is funny since deliberation is a strength of mine (according to STRENGTHSFINDER 2.0--dunno if it's the most helpful acting strength to have, but I'm aware of it at least).

I'll do some follow up next week and wait. Honestly, I'm not expecting much, and that's fine. I've got more to learn. I think I'm a good actor and I've got enough to go off from this weekend to affirm that. If I go back to these auditions (which many people do), I know exactly what to expect.

There's more to ponder about the rounds, the schools, and my acting from this point on. It's kind of daunting and mostly exciting.

Chicago: Ahead

DEATH AND THE PLOUGHMAN

We're waiting to get an actress for our production. It's a frustrating situation, but I think we've got some leads.

That being said, I've just been working on design and marketing for the apprentice show.
You can check out our blog here.

Mainly, I just wanted to make an update so I could let people know that I've "redesigned" this blog. I like the new template. It seems cleaner and more professional or something.

GRAD SCHOOL AUDITIONS

I leave for Chicago on Monday. Here we go grad school auditions! I've been tweaking my resume, finally have my head shots printed (there's nothing I can do about those anymore).

I'm well within the time limit, thank goodness. I just gotta do what I do.

I'll be sure to report what I can, when I can. Yeah it's auditions, but there are opportunities to glean a lot of information from other actors and other programs. This is not only an opportunity for grad school, but I can learn elements that will carry me in rehearsals and productions for this year (and years to follow).

A Massive Update

We're slogging through table work right now. Table work is different depending on the show. For this one, we're slowly going over each "chapter" in the text. A chapter is a long monologue (I'd say they're three minutes long on average). The show alternates between the Ploughman and Death (yours truly). The whole show contains 32 chapters I believe. I have 15 of them - I think. This means I've got 45 minutes' worth of text to memorize.

Let me rephrase this:
I have 45 minutes of text--that was originally written in 1401 in German and has now been translated into English--to memorize.

My favorite word so far: PUTREFACTION. Death calls the human race a "midden heap of putrefaction." (and a TON of other things, but I won't spoil the fun and disgusting. I'll also let you look up "midden.")

The main part of this week's table work is devoted to gaining a total understanding of the text. I read my chapter. We ask questions, discuss tricky points, look up words and other allusions. I'm also working on pronounciation. I've got to be on the look out for the whole "bagel/begel" or "flag/fleg" sounds. Ultimately, this is tedious, slow work. I'm eager to start working on my feet. But I imagine this is going to be a long, arduous rehearsal process. But I think it will pay dividends in the end. We've got just under two months before we open. It's that timeframe that seems a little ways off, but it's dangerously close.

Death is fun. He's not evil (though he is pretty relentless and cold-hearted). But man, this work is hard. I've got to start working on the memorizing.

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OTHER NEWS

I've been hired by the company to stick around for the following year as an annual company member. I work on the marketing team as a "marketing assistant." Essentially, I'm responsible for media relations, setting up interviews, sending press releases, updating event calendars on various websites. Additionally, I work on in house design projects (like season passes, brochures, magazine ads). I also maintain the Twitter and Facebook Fan pages for the company. I'll be looking into other social media outlets for the company. I help get the word out about the theatre. It's essential and actually fun. I'm able to focus some of my other knacks for the art.

Aside from living in a cubicle, I also have some artistic assignments that will be fun.

The biggie is playing Erhart Borkman in John Gabriel Borkman by Henrik Ibsen. We're presenting a brand-new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, which is thrilling. I'm so excited to be a part of this show. That opens in April and runs until June.

Another role I've got is playing the illustrious inventor Charles Dabernow Schmendiman in Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin. This show opens up in May and runs until September. Schmendiman is a tiny role, but it's packed with energy, comedy, and is sure to steal the show (for a brief time).

Both of these productions have new directors who have national reputations as well.

I'm also understudying Antony Wilding in Enchanted April and Laurie, et al in an original company-adapted version of Little Women.

I'd say I've got a pretty full plate this year. It gets a little sparse at the end of the year, but I'm a part of an ensemble, resident theatre company. We all have to share responsibilities on and off stage. The Ibsen project is such a blessing.

This does mean no grad school for Tim in 2010. I'm attending the U/RTA auditions so that I can take a serious crack at auditioning and hopefully talk to some schools. Who knows, deferment may even be an option for 2011. It's all hard to tell.

I'm Still Here

I promise.

I'm about to enter rehearsals for Death and the Ploughman.

I'm still working on monologues for grad school auditions (though that is kind of put on a hiatus; I'll explain more later).

It's going to be a busy year. I've got some excellent opportunities as an actor.

So stay tuned.