There’s Theatre in Chicago?
Ohhhh man. You guys. I’m really excited to be here. I’ve been reading posts from Green Room Blog for almost two years now. I even started a blog of my own one year ago. And now I’m here! This is awesome.
I’m sure you all have lots of questions – and by you all, I mean my family, and one or two of my facebook friends who accidentally clicked the link on my page. Regardless, I’m sure you’re wondering:
-How I found Green Room Blog
-What my personally story is with acting.
-Why I’m an actor who isn’t living in New York or LA
These are all fantastic questions. Let’s start with the first. I started reading Green Room Blog after my dear friend/partner for life, the not so Newbie Actress, starting writing for the blog. She’s fantastic. If you live in New York, you should hang out with her everyday. Here’s a picture of the two of us graduating from college
I Stiiiiiill Got It…
A thousand apologies for being away so long! I got a new toy this summer so I have been slacking on the whole social media spectrum since most rivers and lakes around here don’t have wi-fi hookups for kayakers. I am going to do better, I swear. So many fun things to talk about!
So last night I took a “Broadway Dance Class” with a friend of mine in a city near by. I wanted to take this class last year, but scheduling would not allow so I was really excited, plus, my friend just returned from a Box Office internship far, far away so I was even more excited to make dancing fools of ourselves together. Now I have not taken a LEGIT dance class in about a year and a half, and even still, that was just a 3 hour workshop style.
THIS WAS FREAKING HARD! I literally forgot that my body could move in some of the ways that it did. I have never sweat more than I did in that room in my entire life. And after a 10 year hiatus from a formal ballet warm-up, I pliéd like a boss. Now my goals for this class are similar to the instructor’s (Broadway and National Tour Veteran). I want to get better at receiving choreography and then performing it, not just “getting through it.” I just need to be able to absorb what the choreographer is throwing at me and be able to make an acting choice not just struggle to remember.
‘That’ll be £3 please…’
I’m just about to complete my last week of shifts as a waitress and bar staff so thought I would share what I’ve learnt, the good and the bad.
1) Customers can be pretty interesting people
I love working day shifts because I generally end up on the bar and am able to chat to our regulars. An old guy called Tom was telling me stories about my father and how they used to drink together, Paul was talking about his near miss at being a band with a recording contract, Peter always has funny stories to tell about his gun shop which generally end up in him telling someone to ‘f*** off’ out of his shop. They always make the shift go slightly easier, they may be older than me but that makes them a lot more interesting!
Hail, Dionysus!
My first week back at college, I had auditions and the first chapter of my Theatre History textbook to get through. Ancient Greece! The birthplace of theatre. I’m sure every thespian knows of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, the patron of theatre, the guy that every college student worships Friday night.
I’m always impressed that theatre started as a religious ceremony to worship Dionysus. It was a holy, sacred chorus—two thousand years later, the chorus is a song and dance entertainment. For me, I think that’s really sad, how far theatre has fallen. The Theatre of Dionysus seated over 20,000. The entire polis would come to hear their stories and mythology (in older days, an audience went to “hear” a play. The ancient Greek word for actor was “hypokrite”, which meant ‘answerer’. Nowadays, we see a play, like a movie and television show.).
Theatre today seems like an endless advertisement and entertainments which are constantly interrupted by the ringing of cellphones. I want an audience that comes to hear what a play has to offer up on society! I don’t want to amuse audience members anymore—they should listen and hear what the playwright has to say. I’m done with spectacle—Hear me, Dionysus! I want theatre to be a religious experience again.
Pre-Production Process
Now that the summer is done, I’ve already had my first two meetings planning two more shows I’m doing in the future this past week. Sometimes pre-production planning is a short process. One of the shows I had a meeting about is going up in just over 6 weeks from now, which I’d consider a very fast process. While another show I had a meeting for this week I don’t plan on seeing it go up until June. A lot of shows does take about a year to fully plan a show- from working on the script, finding the right theatre within budget, to hiring people to be apart of the production team. I’ve also had shows start pre-production and finish its final performance within a 6 week time frame. Now some of you who are theatre newbies, or actors that often aren’t involved with the pre-production process, might be wondering: “what’s involved with the pre-production process? when is a production no longer in the early stages?”
Here’s my personal subjective perspective on it through my own theatrical lens:
Since every show is different, it’s hard to say WHAT goes into pre-production per say. Sometimes, discussions of staged readings to continue developing the script happens in that time. Other times it can involve the biggest concerns that might be connected to that particular play; such as things that might be expensive that the script calls for, or safety concerns like fire in the show or medical issues. The bulk of the time, here’s what pre-production meetings usually entails:
Age 6, my life began ….
You know that moment where theatre becomes your whole life? It happened to me at age 6 when I first stepped onto stage with a training academy. My whole life has basically escalated from there; through many twists and turns, ups and downs, but somehow I’ve come out the other side and still have a passion for theatre.
I’m the Tattooed Theatre Student otherwise known as Heather, 19 years old and live in the UK. The first UK-based Green Room blogger, I think that’s quite an achievement! I’m just about to start a degree in Stage Management at Rose Bruford College down in Kent. I’m independent, hardworking and quite outspoken if needed. I love my friends, family, pets and everyone that’s helped me along the way. Now how did I get here?
Serenity Now
As a recovering alcoholic — though one who is decidedly agnostic about 12-step programs — I am very familiar with the Serenity Prayer. And though I am equally skeptical about religion, even some atheist friends agree with me that those 26 words attributed to theologian Reinhold Neibuhr may be the closest the human race has ever come to a recipe for happiness:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
In addition to being a former drinker, I am also a former (and still occasional) control freak, and following that very simple formula has always proven difficult. But since entering the world of theater, I have found it not only helpful but essential.
Theater is by nature collaborative, and we each strive to do our own best work at any moment in each production. But we are human. We may fail to achieve our best, or have an off day, or succumb to the intense emotional stress of a production with a meltdown. And, in working with people with very different levels of experience (as I discussed in my last post), our best at any given moment may be far above or far below the best of our scene partners.
He’s Just Not That Into You: Agent Edition
“Wait a minute….wait a minute….have you ever been a relationship, where it’s not exactly the best, and it’s not exactly the worst…. and then all of the sudden…out of nowhere comes this HUNKKK???? …………MEADOWLARRKKKK!”
Ok…that’s a really bizarre for introduction the song “Meadowlark”. However, in her 1980 concert at Les Mouches, one of our favorite divas (Miss Lupone, herself) did describe my recent tales of love and loss (and love again) with my agents.
So…long story short, I recently broke up with my agency of over 3 years. It was your classic tale of young love (fresh out of showcase)….hot and heavy, at first. Then…gradually, we grew apart. Then, came this “HUNNKK” of an agency and I was faced with the decision of staying in my relationship of 3 years, or taking the leap, leaving my comfort zone, and trying to start from scratch with someone new. I took the leap….now, I’m happier than ever….and, you know what I learned?
My ex just wasn’t that into me.
When I first realized this, I was kind of pissed. I’d given them MY YOUTH! 🙂 However, as clichéd as it seems, I think it has taught me invaluable lessons that make me a better partner to my current professional other half and I want to share some of these with you…..
1. Make sure it’s Love…not Lust – Young love is a beautiful thing. You put on your favorite dress, you paint your nails, and you let the suitors come to you. They are excited. You are excited. It’s a whirlwind. That being said, when you both come down from the initial high…you are both just people. Do you like the person behind the facade? Before you sign on the dotted line and they slip that proverbial ring on your finger, be sure that this PERSON is someone you genuinely like and vice-versa. Otherwise, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
The Green Room 