And then the four of us will do that thing actors must do when their performances come to an end: Say “Goodbye” to this pattern of doing things in a particular way, with a particular set of blocking, props, costumes, set dressing – essentially to something that will never be this way again.
Theatre is such a powerful and temporary thing. I used to marvel in college at huge and beautiful sets being built up, used for a number of weeks, and then torn down again. It really made me realize that even if we all did the same show years from now, it would never be the same show again.
Theatre can be a reunion, an introduction, or a mingling of the two..but it ALWAYS ends in a figurative and literal..break up.
This show in particular is 90 minutes of non stop emotional escalation. I’ve carried Sister James with me everywhere I’ve been this late spring / early summer. Her experiences have infiltrated my dreams ! It’s creepy, but also tells me that I am in the right place.
I’m proud of this production of Doubt because it’s never black and white, and our awesome director, Hunter Parker, never intended it to leave people with a comforting feeling of “I know who did it.” Instead, it gets people thinking.
Every single person has a different response at the end of the night. I see that as a good thing. Theatre is best when served with thought. There’s a name for a theatre group in there somewhere.
To my friends, colleagues and show patrons who have come out to see the show -Thank you so much. It has been a pleasure sharing this show with you. So please spread the word! Looking forward to leaving it all on the stage these last two performances.
Does anyone truly know what the hell that means, anyway? I am sure if you google it right now you will come across a gazillion blog posts about it, as well as a lot of “ten steps to life-work balance” type content as well.
I’m going to go ahead and throw out a crazy idea..what if there is no such thing as life / work balance? I say there isn’t, and here’s why.
The entire assumption that a balance between life and work is needed implies that there is something wrong with you. As in, you either are spending too much or not enough time at work or home or vise-versa. Everyone’s looking for the “secret” to success. “What does it take to have it all?” It also suggests that your life is compartmentalized. Um. Your life is just your life!
I think there’s a new way of looking at this all together. What if we just start accepting that parts of our lives are going to sometimes be more chaotic? That some of our time is spent having fun? that sometimes life gets outweighed by certain things more than others because hey, they good and the bad both happen when you least expect it and adjustments need to be made accordingly.
An example of things not going to plan.
But just because something may be chaotic, or you might have had one too many GTs at the company picnic or didn’t get that gig yo uwanted..it doesn’t mean that you have to get riled up over it. Right? I know, easy for me to say.
To get more specific, in this world of acting and the entertainment business in general, there are a lot of misconceptions. Some common questions:
How can you drive that far?!
Is it really worth it?
Don’t you get sick of auditioning?
And the list goes on and on from there. I think that what happens to a lot of us is we try to fix problems.PROBLEMS. You know what I say? I say there are NO problems. I say
from pinterest
EXCUSES.
I can’t do this because I don’t have this
I can’t do that because I don’t have enough money
I can’t work out because I don’t have enough time
I don’t audition past the state line because it’s too time consuming.
But what do all of those things really even mean?!
I think there’s a whole lot of stress getting shoved around and mislabeled and overdiagnosed with medications and distractions when really, a lot of the time many of us are just afraid to live.
For example, I used to get (ok and sometimes still do) extremely stressed out when I looked at my schedule for the week (See Episode 2 of Holding) and didn’t understand how I was going to get from point A —–> Z without running on fumes or without failing miserably or whatever, really.
running on caffeine
I am not saying that this is the same thing as overbooking yourself. That is something that needs to be determined on an individual basis and I am happy to explore that in another post because I have a classic case of burn out in my repertoire.
Anyway…
What’s the big deal? You got big dreams? Well, chances are you won’t have a lot of down time. There will be a lot of doing and trial and error. Sometimes you may have stretches of nothing on your schedule and that doesn’t mean anything bad either. It doesn’t mean that you are not perfecting the “work-life” balancing act. Cause guess what? It’s just some construct some uppity person with too many degrees decided was wrong with the overworked working class.
Start from where you are. Accept that you have chosen a life for yourself that is not always full of certainty. Hell, even if you have a stable job there is always going to be uncertainty. Live one day at a time. Then one moment. You can do it. You can get everything done that you set out to (IF that is what you really want to do!) Just believe.
And here’s my run down of Don’ts
Don’t judge:
that you haven’t gotten enough sleep
that you didn’t get that part / job / internship / contest
that you haven’t had a vacation in…ever?
Don’t listen
to people who tell you you are “doing too much” (they are probably just jealous or shocked or both)
DO:
Give yourself time to breathe every day.
Enjoy each moment
treat your life, work, and play all with the same integrity. It’s your life. Compartmentalizing things physically and emotionally doesn’t work in the long run. Screw life / work balance. How about just living with integrity?
Let yourself be YOU. That’s all any of us can do anyway. 🙂
This is a shout out to my fellow acting peeps out there. First of all, let’s draw a big X over the cliche of the “Aspiring Actor.”
There is nothing I detest more (mild exaggeration) than when someone says to me or one of my fellow actors, “OH you’re aspiring to be an actor.”
Definition of Aspiring: to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value
So, after you just explained to someone that you act in theater, you do commercials, etc, they negate everything you just said by saying you aren’t there yet, which is insulting. I am pretty sure what people mean to say is “OH you’re hoping to be famous and rich and be a well-known actor!” OK so part of this may be true but if actors were defined by this, then there wouldn’t be very many actors.
Let’s look at more stereotypes:
-waiter / waitress
-live in NYC or LA
-agents get all the work for you
-you must be broke
-you must be a “struggling artist”, which I think sums all of this up.
So how can we empower ourselves to use our talents to work in non-conventional ways while we wait to hear back from that audition or agent or casting company?
I have a couple of ideas for you! First of all, I think it is important to find a way to give back. And no, I am not saying giving away your talent for free. Yes, a few unpaid student films in the beginning of your career are awin-win for both parties, but if you’ve been at this awhile, it’s time to buckle down and creative with your creativity.
TEACHING HOSPITALS
It doesn’t matter where you live. Reach out to your local hospital and / or university and seek out a professional in the medical program. Ask if they have a simulated patient program and explain that you are an actor. And you are brilliant and so on. This is one of the most empowering and “good vibe” generating experiences you can have as an actor. You are acting in real time with a fully loaded character using crazy improv skills AND helping a medical student learn how to interact with patients. It can also pay very well too.
ACTOR COACHING / TEACHING
If you are a trained actor with a lot of experience, particularly on film, coaching can be a profitable and viable option for you. Start out by branching out in your community, seeking out actors at local and / or community theaters and schools and try to find the green actors (note how I didn’t say aspiring). This makes you feel good because you are helping others AND using your talents to get paid for it.
Teaching can be an iffy one. But I think it’s important for everyone to try it out at least once. Find out if you like little kids, older kids, college kids and then you can seek out drama schools, programs, etc in the area where you live and offer your services. This pays more if you have a Masters Degree, but in my experience it is not always necessary! You can even offer private teaching on your own and make some money helping to shape the young creative minds of the future. That is never a bad thing!
THEATER GIGS
Of course, this can go as paid OR unpaid but I am putting it out there because either way it will save you money. typically if you usher at local professional theaters you can stay and see the show for free! We all know how expensive theater can be these days. You are helping out a local theater while saving some cash!
Some theaters pay their ushers too which of course would be the ideal situation. Ask around!
Sometimes as artists, it is good to get out of our heads and go out there and serve someone else instead of chasing after the next audition and constantly worrying about how we are going to get hired or put food on the table. These are just a couple of ideas and I encourage you to leave some of your own and let me know if you have tried any of these already!
Have a great week and get creative with your work!
“Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.” – William Cullen Bryant
This quote is how I feel these days, especially with wrapping up and beginning new projects that are slated to be presented within the next month. I am busy with class, editing, rehearsals, applying for an important internship for next year, working on getting “Holding” out to all of you, writing, and I just feel so grateful to have this beautiful season in which to complete it all.
This Labor Day weekend I watched a videotaped performance of a show I did last November called “Almost, Maine” with Valley Repertory Company. It was a group I had never worked with before, with all new friends and actors.
Here we are: the cast of "Almost, Maine"
Watching that video got me thinking. Not about my acting or anything, I can watch myself all day (Once you’ve done enough camera work, you get over it. Watching yourself becomes more objective rather than “EWW I look so gross!” or “How do I sound like that!”). OK maybe not all day. But I realized that my life was in a completely different place on that stage than it was in the moment I was watching the video.
This weekend I was sitting next to the love of my life, surrounded by theatre friends I consider family, hanging out, drinking, eating and sort of marveling at the changes we’ve been through.
If you told me a year ago that this year I would direct a play, be a Production Assistant on major motion pictures, become the Artistic Director of a theater company, act in pieces I’ve always wanted to, write and create my own webseries, plus be able to share it all with someone who loves me and supports me for everything I am and do? Holy crap.
Last year I was having trouble facing the fact that I needed to drop people and activities from my life that were no longer of any use to me. I was hurting in more ways than one, but I wouldn’t fully let myself come to that realization. In fact, the only fun I was able to scrounge up last holiday season was the show, “Almost, Maine.”
So a few days after Thanksgiving, I hung out with my best friend Stephen and we walked around Hartford looking at the Christmas lights and bracing ourselves for another season of festivity / insanity. I walked around that night and grounded myself in the fact that things kinda sucked. But Stephen reminded me to “breathe” and I reminded myself that however big the next hurdle was, it would be over eventually.
Things did get better! Especially this year when I opened up to others about my dreams in a practical way and FINALLY heeded the advice given to me by fellow theater friends, Jim and Mary-Ellen: “Remember, ask for help. People want you to succeed!” And sure enough, I’ve had the extreme privilege and honor to create art all year that is reflective of the visions I’ve wanted to execute. Voila!
And I will say, it doesn’t only extend as far as artistic / theatre / film folks. It’s the friends and family who just love me for who I am and urge me to keep moving forward.
For the first time I’m finally saying, “THIS WILL HAPPEN” as opposed to “Eh, it’s okay if it doesn’t happen.”
So. THANK YOU to each and every one of you out there who has supported me. It means more than I can express. And remember, there are people out there who want to help YOU pursue your dreams, no matter how crazy or “out there” they may seem. And I’m one of them!
I mean, do you remember being a teenager and ushered into the auditorium and having to sit through some presentation or assembly?
There is an inherent skepticism on the individual level, that proliferates in a room of other teenagers. “What can this adult possibly tell me about myself that I ALREADY KNOW!?” Ahem. Maybe it’s that whole, you-don’t-realize-until-you-get-older….thing, but I remember feeling that way, and the first time I ever stepped onstage as a “grown up” for 1100 students for a Deana’s Educational Theatre show, I was reminded of how my peers and I felt “back in the day” about required school assemblies. It made me feel a little nauseated.
After being with DET for almost three years, I can attest that it’s not always easy to garner the attention of an entire class of teenagers but it is certainly not impossible. And YES it varies from school to school, town to town, state to state. Seriously.
So over the past few days, some members of the company and myself rehearsed and presented a new show that’s in development, to a couple of groups of teenagers. Talk about intimidating. Classroom setting! Digital Age! Short attention span!
I really felt out of place generation-wise when I saw a sign that had a big X over a photo of ear buds. “In MY day, in MY high school we had CD players, not these teeny inconspicuous ipods.”
But something rather miraculous (strong choice of word I know) happened. They were engaged during the entire presentation. And they had TONS of feedback! The parts we thought they would find corny, they fully accepted. And they pointed out issues that we hadn’t really thought about.
It was then that I also realized that these kids respected us, and maybe some of them even looked up to us. Many of them also cared very much about the issue we were trying to address (cyberbullying) and gave us detailed responses. Definitely encouraging.
I guess I kind of fell for stereotypes about teenagers, even though I’ve already been one. LAME. And I guess these kids were already ahead of ME because they were completely open, accepting, and willing to help us help them.
In college, playwright, professor and overall awesome person Michael Bradford used to say to us “You all are so lucky. You get to do what you love EVERY. DAY. Most people in the real world don’t get to act, direct, or design every day. But you do.” And we’d all sigh, and lament behind our desks, dressed in sweatpants and smart-ass responses.
Here’s the thing…he was right! Of course, graduating from college is great, and being on your own and all is…great. ahem. BUT it’s true. the emphasis in college is on the craft, not on the business. I’ve definitely learned the business side on my own, but that’s not the point. The point is, we were invited to be imaginative, creative, and taught to find inspiration from past events in our lives, people we met, and the environment surrounding us.
When you get out on your own, sometimes it’s trickier to be inspired on your own.
Recently I sat down with a professor from college and two of my classmates from my Acting Class. We weren’t really getting together for any other reason than to catch up. Thomas, Glen (my classmates), and I have done a pretty good job at staying in touch. But Ms. Jean had a ton of questions for us. What were we doing? How were our social lives? Were we happy? What was our focus?
We talked about acting, theatre, film, politics, love, everything really. It was only a span of a couple hours, but something happened. We became inspired. It made me realize that a lot of us had probably taken a lot of the creative energy that we were always surrounded by for granted. At the same time, it was wonderful to meet up with people I’ve known for a long time and just talk about what’s making us tick these days.
Thomas, Ms. Jean, myself, and Glen
I walked away from the lunch feeling very good about how far I’ve come since I graduated, but also with a sense that I have a very long road ahead of me. It’s exciting and scary, all wrapped up in one.
A couple days later, I get a call from Glen, and it turns out that he and Thomas want me to help out with their next project. I’m very excited, naturally. And the word Glen used to describe the meeting of the four of us?
Inspiring.
No matter what you do, or what field you’re in, I challenge you to find ways to become more inspired. Feel like you’re in a rut? Maybe an adjustment is needed. A new environment, a break, a new group of people, whatever it is, find ways to break up your routine. You may surprise yourself.
I’m back to report from the wild world of actor-land, where I have had a few unique auditions in the past couple of weeks. Now I’m not making excuses here, but May has been a HELLA-busy month between doing shows and filming and volunteering for theatre and gala events…I think I am just now catching my breath enough to write.
Now…I would like to touch on a very specific nuance in the audition process.
A typical film or tv audition goes something like this.
1. Actor reads / performs material assigned to them.
2. Casting Director may or may not give feedback.
3. Actor adjusts accordingly. Or doesn’t. Or freaks out.
Now there’s a mini-step in between 2 and 3 that for the sake of clarity I will thus label as 2a. there’s a little step where you need to say “I understand what this person wants. I am going to apply it to my performance. I trust myself enough to say YES, I can take a breath and take my time to be brilliant.”
Well, dear friends, I had an audition in New York in which step 1 and 2 went by as easy as a summer breeze in LA (but not June. It’s smoggy in June). Then evil-actor’s-nightmare-voice creeped in and whispered “YOU DON’T REALLY have all six pages of this script memorized you will NEVER be able to adjust your performance to fit the note you were given.” I took a breath, changed my game and then suddenly got to the bottom of the page and remembered that I didn’t know what I was doing because well DUH the evil voice told me I don’t!
Afterwards, I was told, “You are a very good cold reader, aren’t you?” to which I responded “Yes.” “You didn’t trust yourself right there, though, you looked at the script more than you did last time. You already knew the lines.” GAASP! WHAT!? I am ALWAYS telling newbie actors to keep their eyes and faces up out of the page and to take their time. I knew it couldn’t really be that!
I have a photographic memory. I know the basics. I can take notes. All it took was a small moment of self-doubt to pretty much make it look like I didn’t know what I was doing.
So I say to you TRUST YOURSELF TO SAY YES. I sound like a self-help book or something, but I cannot emphasize this enough. I haven’t had an audition like this probably since college. I realize we all slip up and I’m glad I did because it reminded me of THIS:
USELESS CRAP YOU DON’T NEED AS AN ACTOR (or as a person really)
self deprecation
worrying if you “got the part”
comparing yourself to others
thinking too much
self doubt
Negativity really is the enemy. Good actors get in the way of themSELVES too often. If you look at the list above, it really demonstrates that we are in control of how we handle situations. We may not be able to control the outcome, but we can certainly be good to ourselves so that every possible performance is a good one.
By contrast, I had two very solid auditons.
At another audition in New York City, I read for a casting director, received a note, altered my performance and she said I “nailed it.” I took the time to listen to what she wanted, said “YES I have this, I know what I’m doing, I trust myself” and gave an adjusted performance. THEN! Someone didn’t show up to read, so they asked me to read again and I did, and she said that again, I had done very well and thanked me for reading again! PHEW. Now that’s what I’m talking about.
And my last audition for an equity production in Rhode Island also went swimmingly. It also proved something that my very first acting mentor ever taught me which was to “be prepared with as much material as you can.” AKA know your monologues, know them well, because you NEVER know…
In this case the audition started off very friendly, in which the director asked me about being vegan and cooking vegan cupcakes, as well as working at Connecticut Repertory Theatre. Then, I performed my first Shakespearean monologue which he described as very nice, and said, “Do you have anything else?” I said “Sure!” and he said, “No, I am not putting you on the spot, but if you have something else I’d like to see it.” BAM I pulled out another Shakespearean monologue I had performed many times and that was it! My audition was complete and I left all smiles.
me on set "Last Day in Paradise" as my character Aimee, getting all sorts of zenned out.
In the last two cases, I was prepared when an opportunity arose. I also like to call this being lucky. In the first example, I had convinced myself that I was NOT prepared and psyched myself out of what have could have been a really great audition.
So anytime you actors out there are on your journey to the next big audition, remember that you already have all the success and skill inside of you. You just need to trust yourself to let it out and let it show. Say YES to yourself and ignore the negativity.
Regardless of how long you’ve been rehearsing, or the length of the show you’re producing, all theatre people know (whether they admit it or not) that Opening Night will be excellent. There are many factors, including:
-Anticipation (friends, family, critics, people who have previous ties to the show or playwright / actors / director etc)
-Audience! (built in feedback)
-Adrenaline (Actors are thrilled, excited, jittery and ready to tear up the stage)
-Magic (no one can explain this, it just is)…this kind of ruined my list of “A” word factors of opening night success. AAAM.
Every opening night I am more amazed at myself and the ridiculous amount of nerves and excitement that wash through my body. In every experience I’ve had, opening night is a built in success. I don’t know how to explain it. Something to do with that M word. Magic. NOT the OTHER M word. Non theatre people can feel free to do their research and google what I’m talking about. Sorry, folks. I’m in the middle of a run of a show, and I don’t mess around.
Beyond opening night, seasoned actors are aware that the audience’s personality changes from night to night. They all laugh at the same things, cry at the same things, remain silent at the same things…from night to night. The personality of a group every night is different. It’s as though you are meeting someone new EVERY single night of a show and you have to pace your work with the rhythm of the crowd. It’s one of the scariest, and in my opinion, most fun parts about being an actor: figuring out how to suck the audience into the story onstage. It’s intuitive and takes work and practice, but to me it’s absolutely thrilling. You never know what you’re gonna get!
This brings me to another variable in a show’s success, which is audience etiquette. Now under most conditions, audiences behave. They know when to clap, laugh. Of course, somebody sometimes forgets to turn off their cell phone…but when I say etiquette I mean…
you know those people who TALK during a show?
those people who come in late and ARE LOUD and OBNOXIOUS?
People who TALK on their CELL PHONES as they leave to ANSWER IT!?
There is one rule, in my oh-so-humble opinion when it comes to being an audience member at a show, and contributing to a postive experience for both actor and theatre-goer:
Don’t be an inconsiderate douchebag.
That is all. Quite simple, methinks.
Another factor in a show’s success is publicity. I like to stick to the Andy Warhol-esque idea…who cares what they say about the show!? As long as they are talking about it, people will come. That’s all that really matters.
Okay. We all want rave reviews. But nothing is worse than not being talked about! (that’s more Oscar Wilde-esque, but I am auditioning for an Oscar Wilde play this evening, so that’s where my mind is right now).
And I think the last, certainly not least, important variable in a show’s success…is the ability of a show to ride the wave of a run.
I know. That sounds vague. But what I mean is, most shows usually follow this kind of “excitement / awesomeness” schedule:
Opening Night: AWESOME!!!!! highest on awesome scale to infinity!
Second Night..is known as the Second Night Slump. Second night is all like, “Yo, how am I supposed to follow the craziness of Friday night? Everyone’s still recovering from the whole awesomefest of last night. Ugh. I’ll try my best.” AKA not so awesome.
Matinees: NOT AWESOME AT ALL. Old people, people who have just had a chill morning at church, chillaxed people who don’t want to do housework. Sunday people are usually zoning out and honestly not prepared to take in a stimulating theatre experience. It’s okay. It’s not their fault. They don’t realize! They are trying to be culturally sophisticated people, but sadly…Our bodies and minds take Sunday off. It’s just how we’re built.
Additional Evenings: they’re fine. I would say pretty good to awesome on a high scale. Additional evenings are usually on their best behavior.
ENDING ON A MATINEE: NOT. OKAY. It’s comparable to watching the night sky on the Fourth of July AFTER the fireworks have fizzled to darkness. Lots of smoke..haze..and nothing really pretty to see. No energy. negative on the awesome scale. Why?? See Matinee.
For the show I am currently in, “Crimes of the Heart,” at Rocky Hill Theatre, we are halfway through our run.
Opening night? AMAZING! The audience listened to every word, laughed, cried, it was great.
Second night? Not so many people. No one laughed until at least 45 minutes in. Then they realized it was okay to laugh and they seemed pretty interested.
SEE?
Opening Night = magic.
Second Night Slump? Slumpy.
PS We close on a matinee!!!!!! But I’m not hatin’. I’m still bring my A game. And so should you!
For you non-theatre friends, Hell Week refers to the week leading up to the opening night of a show, also more officially and appropriately known as Technical Rehearsal Week.
Tech weeks are tedious, boring, and all about well…the details. The technical details. Actors don’t like technical details. They like the emotion, the feeling, the flow of a scene. For me, technical details are the little things I like to glaze over for the better part of a 6-8 week rehearsal period, until it becomes inevitable that…I’m going to have to fine tune the technical…details.
My list for the show, “Crimes of the Heart,” consists of the following technical details, the things I personally have to worry about, including the translation of what these details mean to me.
-a saxophone (big object I could break or hurt someone with)
-lighter…(fire really.)
-lemons (acidic, bouncy fruit)
-sugar (Messy. very. messy)
-ice cubes (use your imagination)
-a very sharp knife (See previous blogs. ACCIDENT PRONE MUCH?)
-three costumes and a raincoat (not a big deal, but I suppose it technically counts)
-a suitcase, scissors, newspaper, photo album
Now, we all have to deal with things like cups and plates and water onstage, but to me that’s not a big deal. To me, things like oh you know, LIGHTING CANDLES and cutting lemons with a knife, scissors in general, those are technical details for my character. I mean let’s be real: These are the technical details of LIFE that I tend to have issues with.
If any of you know me even somewhat, you know that I am a klutz. I need things mapped out in LIFE, and definitely for the stage. I know things are going to go wrong in life, but on stage I need to KNOW what could go wrong. I need to be able to walk out on that stage and think, “OK. Worst case scenario. Doesn’t matter. I’m prepared.” I need to know that if there aren’t enough lemons, or if I cut my finger and bleed all over the table, or trip and break the saxophone, I need to know that it’s gonna be okay.
This brings me to my superstitions. To me, it does not feel like a superstition. Instead, it feels like an ingrained fact of life that is a part of the stream of my creative actor blood that flows forth from my orange chakra in brilliant waves of light.
Shit needs to be messed up the week before opening night.
I LIVE and WAIT on Bated Breath (I had to capitalize it, it’s a reference to the theatre group I co-founded 3 years ago www.batedbreaththeatre.org) for the first misshap.
Examples:
-We forget an entire chunk 2 page of dialogue (This one can be checked off. That totally already happened yesterday)
-Something breaks!
-Light cues get messed up
-sound cues get messed up
-props aren’t in the right place
You get the idea. Now, I’m not saying I WANT things to go wrong and I’m not saying it needs to happen every single tech week for every show. But what I’m saying is, when things get jammed up, people rise to the occasion. It “raises the stakes” (Thank you Kristin Wold) and makes you go “CRAP!! This went wrong! It will NEVER GO WRONG AGAIN during the run of this show!” And then you woman up or man up and you sharpen yo’ skillz. You pay attention. You become a better actor, or stage manager, or director.
Let’s really zoom in on one of my examples. Last night onstage, as we were all adjusting to a nearly-fully decorated stage, and working in costumes for the first time, we reached a scene where we just jumped over a good 1/3 of a page of diaologue. I wasn’t sure we’d recover, but we all jumped ahead and life was okay. Afterwards, I spoke with one of the actors and she said, “I can’t believe I forgot the line, we missed the page…(etc). Now I’m worried it will happen every time!”
I quickly cut her off (as best I could. We were having this discussion in the bathroom and it’s hard to be uplifting and inspirational while standing in your underwear, changing your clothing in a stall) and said “NO! That is EXCELLENT. Because now, you have forgotten lines in a spot you never have before, and NOW you will make sure you never do it again. You’ll be so much more aware of what’s going on.” I then went on to explain how things just need to go wrong before a show opens. If it doesn’t…I get real suspicious.
I was once in a show in the middle of the summer where the lights went out. They just…went out. We hadn’t had this trouble before the opening of the show. See what I mean?
I need to face at least a few battles with theatre demons before the show opens. Because then I can put on my war paint (ok..stage makeup) and march out and face the lights, other actors, and audience with my lion-like prowess, fear dissipated like a slow fade black out follwing the climax of an emotional scene.
And just so you all know…I get to practice with the lemons tonight. I think the director was a little taken aback about how relieved I was over such a small detail.
Casey McDougal 