GUEST POST BY SIERRA: On Being a Theatre Major
Please welcome guest poster Sierra Carter to the blog today! Sierra is a junior theatre major at The University of Central Oklahoma, with big career plans and a lot of heart. Today she’s sharing with us both how it’s easy to get jaded in this crazy career, and the perfect solution to that problem.
At this point in my college adventure I am pretty accustomed to the snarls, the confused looks, the insincere “oh that’s great and what do you expect to do with a degree in that?” reactions when I say: “I am a Theatre Performance Major”. I would be lying to you if I said I have never snarled at myself or questioned my major of choice but after today any doubt, any question, has been trumped.
Why, you ask yourself? Why did this girl have such an inspiration strike her today?
(You’re asking yourself this, as I imagine, eating popcorn and eating more and more intensely as my words get more and more intense.)
Let me start by saying today started my junior year of college. I was not pumped at all and this is rare for someone like me, I get excited when I buy new cleaning supplies, I can get pretty excited about almost anything.
Today, I woke up and dragged my behind to class, clinging to every last inch of summer. I walk into Development of Drama and of course me being who I am I ended up sitting in the most obnoxious chair; even the lightest wiggle and the chair is groaning or making an unfortunate sound that sounds nothing like a fart but you feel extremely uncomfortable as if it was a fart sound. So, here I am, in a fart chair, dreading this class. That’s when my professor approached me, introduced himself, asked my name and continued greeting the 12 other students in my class. (Did I mention I got to college in Oklahoma, not exactly an abundant amount of collegiate theatre kids) My professor is an older man, I am not going to guess his age because I do not want to be completely off but let’s just say he is well into his years. Typically on the first day of class you go over the syllabus, learn about what is expected throughout the course, learn the policies, ect. Yes, we did do that but as he was explaining the assignments to come you could see the spark in his eyes, the passion he has for the theatre. It was beaming off of him, his excitement, his infatuation; his love was filling the room. He mentioned the importance of what we are learning and the worldly insight that the theatre gives us. He gushed about how everyone involved with the art gives a piece of themselves to the audience and how the audience in return is changed by you. The audience is vulnerable, they are affected by you as an actor and it truly is a magical thing.
This is a man who adores everything he is doing.
This is exactly the kind of person I want to be.
That’s when I decided that I do not care; if I can live my life being that in love with what I do I will be completely fine. If I can radiate to others the kind of admiration he radiated I will be whole.
If you take anything from this post take this; Find Your Passion.
What a wonderful way to begin my Junior year.
Thank you so much for sharing this poignant and heartfelt story, Sierra. To learn more about Sierra and to follow her journey, check out her facebook and twitter!
New Works: Musicals vs. Plays
I’ve worked almost exclusively on New Plays, I’m used to having the playwright in the rehearsal room and the dynamic that goes with it. This summer I worked on my first new musical. And boy was it different!
With a new play comes constant changes to the script. This involves creating an updated schedule to allow for read-throughs, blocking, actor memorization, and deal with any new props or set pieces the rewrite requires. My guideline for this situation is 15 minutes rehearsal time per added/changed page in the script.
When you get new pages/song in a musical, you must not only account in the updated schedule for read-throughs, blocking, actor memorization, any new props or set pieces the rewrite requires… But also for orchestrations to be written to cover new dialogue or harmonies for a new song, the choreographer must then work with the actors/dancers after the music is taught by the Musical Director and Composer. Having finally lived the new musical rehearsal process, I would allow a minimum of an hour and a half for a new song, and 45 minutes for a new dialogue scene.
New Plays and Musicals are very different beasts to conquer. Because of the added elements of music and choreography in a musical, it just takes longer to deal with changes. Stage Managers be aware when working on a new musical, your cutoff for script changes must be early enough to allow for all departments to adjust to rewrites as necessary without rushing the creative process. My favorite part of working on any new work is how every position approaches a script very differently and how questions posed from each department help shape the script in unique ways. What’s your favorite part of working on a World Premiere?
Sunday Summary — September 2, 2012
Happy Labor Day Weekend, everyone!
We had a fabulous week of posts, so if you need to catch up, here’s what you missed:
The Redheaded Actress shared how she’s started out on the self-producing adventure.
The College Theatre Dork asked us some of her most pressing questions about a post-college career in the arts.
The Restless Dramaturg gave us some of her tips for how to have a life outside of theatre.
The Practical Artist confessed that her job has been the impetus for most of her major technological advances.
And The British Dancer gave us some perspective on the many differences between living and working in LA versus NYC.
‘Transplants’ and Implants: NY vs. LA
Apparently, I’m what’s known as a ‘transplant’. That is ‘someone who has re-located from New York to LA (or the opposite)’. Thinking about it, I realized that I have been ‘transplanting’ every year for most of my adult life. It is, most probably the result of the nature of this industry and the fact that I am a typical Gemini;
• Gemini’s like to expand their horizons whenever the opportunities arise.
• Gemini wants to see the world, experience everything, and literally “learn something new every day.”
Regardless of my personality, New York and London have instilled in me a continual sense of urgency. New Yorkers have to turn up 3 hours early to sign up for an audition, we get aggravated if we have to wait for the subway for more than 3 minutes and, as advice columnist Michael Kostroff writes, ‘By the time people reach the front of the Starbucks line, we expect them to have their money out and know what they want. Or get the hell out of our frickin’ way.”
In LA, people are ‘nice’. The sun is shining, you can always see at least one palm tree and everyone is ‘in the business’. However, they’re also ‘flaky’. Another ‘transplant’ was telling me that his next-door neighbors always end the conversation with, ‘you should come round for dinner’. They have probably spoken more than 2 dozen times, and yet dinner has never happened and probably never will. Words seldom relate to actions.
Driving
Driving in LA is scary and necessary. LA drivers like to cut across 3 lanes of the freeway without indicating, finding a parking space requires stealth, speed and a purse full of quarters. Plus, the TomTom likes to test me now and again by telling me to go straight ahead when I can only go right or left. For a girl without an ounce of a sense of direction, it sucks. Gone are the days of reading, playing Words With Friends and Bejeweled and going through sides on the subway (admittedly standing up, clinging onto the pole for dear life, wedged between a homeless man and a hipster with a guitar case).
Clean-Living
The apartment is clean with modernity. Our voices echo in the extra space. We can stand on the balcony in March. We can drive 20 minutes to the beach. Even with this, an agent and future contracts, there are definitely times when I miss New York. LA makes me feel idle. There was a time when there were no audition notices that a) did not overlap with Legally Blonde, b) did not end with the phrase ‘No pay’ and c) fitted my profile/ type. At least in NY I could feel sated when I was getting up early, learning routines and being seen by casting directors, even if I wasn’t booking every job. Maybe I miss the familiar, packed holding rooms of Ripley-Grier and Pearl?!
Agents
After over a year of sending, researching, editing and re-sending cover letters, resumes and headshots to agencies in New York, I get to LA and in the first week have a meeting with the biggest bi-coastal dance agency and get offered a contract…….the Lord works in mysterious ways. I’ll take that as meaning that I’m on the right path!
Survival Jobs/ Background Work
In New York I could book background work on a TV show twice a week. The casting notices ranged from ‘hipster’, ‘big business type’ and ‘book party attendee’ to ‘club-goer’, ‘bar patron’ and ‘dancer’. All things I could realistically be. In LA, it’s proving more difficult. Especially as the casting notices range from, ‘Miss California beauty pageant competitor’ and ‘sassy, overweight diva’ to ‘reality show seeking singles’ and the footnote ‘nudity required’. So, it looks like I need to get fake boobs, put on 200lb, pretend to be single and get naked. Hmm…
Class
I mustered up the courage to take my un-contemporary self to a class at Edge (albeit level 2 jazz). Firstly, class in LA is cheap! To be honest, the worst part was waiting outside the studio while the previous contemporary class was still going on. It was ram packed full of girls who looked like they could all reach the finals of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ tilting and arabesque-ing in what can only be described as ‘the type of contemporary dance I hate’.
I was relieved that after some breathing, hissing and stretching my oh-so-tight hamstrings, the LA Lakers cheerleader actually taught us a rather nice lyrical routine. With no surreal, crazy hidden interpretations or awkward, staccato leg lifts, I almost felt comfortable in the pleasant class of 8 (I guess they are the benefits of taking a newer class in the morning).
I dragged my friend along to a 42nd Street Original Choreography Masterclass (there is hardly any musical theatre in LA and this seemed like a once in a long-time opportunity). Some parts felt familiar from a New York ‘Merry-Go-Round’ audition last year, (this class would have been extremely beneficial back then). It was good to whip out the tap shoes, put on a musical theatre face and not feel the pressure of a casting panel whilst learning a worldwide recognized routine from a musical extravaganza. Plus, we managed to meet some mutual friends of friends and make some good contacts!
Auditions
When I first moved to LA, I took my bag of leotards and La Ducas to my first LA audition; A Chorus Line for 3D-Theatricals. It was the strangest feeling to
1) be DRIVING to an audition
2) be leaving for an audition at 4.30pm
3) still be there at the callback at midnight on a Wednesday
4) get seen instantly
5) be in a room of only 30 non-equity people including both men and women
6) be the only person who, apparently, did not already know the routine.
After mapping the route on my iPhone, it told me that it should take 33 minutes to drive to the audition studio in La Mirada, Santa Ana. Fortunately, I left early and after 1 hour and 30 minutes of traffic, I finally arrived just as everyone was warming up and they were explaining the production (conversely, it only took me 30 mins to get back home). I got called back to sing, then had to prepare some sides and songs for the part of Bebe for the next day…Result.
Having returned revitalized and ready to get back in the game from ‘The Illusionists’ Tour, I backcombed my hair and dug out the knee-high boots and booty shorts to audition for ‘Rock of Ages’. It didn’t start off well when I realized that this was non-equity (not listed on the audition notice I saw) and I technically can’t do non-equity gigs because of various union rules. To summarize,
• LA dancers actually warm-up (I’m talking ponches and full ballet barre) in the holding room (yes, we all fitted in with more than enough space).
• The sign-up was at 10.30am, I got there at 10am and was in the first group of 20 people. No NY 4am wake-up calls in sight.
• The casting was in a picturesque church in Hollywood (although we did still dance in a large proper studio with mirrors). No cramped elevator ride to a shoebox studio on the 14th floor of a skyscraper in midtown Manhattan.
• There were more than ample chairs set up in the holding room but everyone sat or stretched on the floor.
• Everyone knew each other. Now, I know in NY there are the familiar faces that come and go during audition seasons but this was on a whole new level!
I still have a lot to learn and explore about LA (having been away on contracts for most of the short time I have lived here). I’m still working out what it’s like to be a British musical theatre dancer in a commercial LA world. I’ll let you know when I find out!
Get With the Times
I got a laptop because when I was on tour, finding a fax machine by 9am every Sunday was impossible in places like Smalltown, Tennessee. I got a smartphone because of the fact that I’m a freelancer and by the time I read an email offering work, 5 people had already responded and I lost the opportunity. I signed up for twitter because I needed to hire someone and get them to show up within 4 hours and my boss said “tag it on twitter” (yes, it worked.) My recent technological discovery came with this little wonder called Dropbox.
Some documents (like prop lists and costume flow charts) are constantly updated and have to be shared with multiple people: the Stage Management Team (who observe rehearsal and update the document appropriately), the Design Team (who need to design and build according to the document), and the Production Management Team (who adjust the budget according to the document). Everyone needs to add things to the document and there are many ways to keep everyone on the same page. My new favorite is Dropbox.com
Want to always make sure you’re looking at the most updated contact list? Or sick of having 50 documents called “costume plot” with different dates taking up room on your hard drive? Tired of remembering who to email the updated versions too? Dropbox eliminates these problems by connecting one single document with many users to a folder on everyone’s computer. Know what else is great? You get an update whenever a document has been changed and by whom. And it’s all free with plenty of opportunities to earn more free space.
What are your favorite technological tricks for staying organized?
Thrive to Survive
You love theatre. You have chosen it as your career. But sometimes, those theatre jobs just don’t pay. So, what do you do? Stop doing theatre? NO! Get other jobs to support you while you do theatre anyway! Sarcasm yes, but, truth being you need to eat and, let’s be real, not all theatre jobs pay you enough to do that. Must the jobs that pay also be the jobs you hate? Are there ways around the soul-wrenching 9-5’s so that you can thrive while you survive? I like to think so.
I can’t stand it when people will say to me “you have such a great mind and good education; why not use it to make money?” In my hyper-emotional artist’s mind, that is the same as saying to me: “you have great tits and a great ass; why don’t you use it to make money?” Yes, that’s right, I did just compare the cubicle to the street corner! As I remember it, coming home after a day at the office, I felt dejected and soulless. I can only assume that exploiting your mind for someone else’s gain would feel the same as exploiting your body. That is not to say that all office jockeys are miserable prostitutes shelling out 70% of their net profits to their pimp boss. I know a good many people who enjoy putting on the suit and tie and sitting in a temperature controlled room. I, however, cannot. In that environment I am miserable, but that does not mean you have to be completely miserable in your existence outside of the theatre world. I am a firm believer that people have endless talents and pleasures that are, at times, so random they themselves can’t even understand it. Humans are complex. So, why not use your survival job to embellish those other fancies?
As a Dramaturg, I do not get a chance to work with my hands very often. It just so happens I was lucky enough to have gotten my BA from a theatre program that insisted all students experience almost every level of theatre, such as set building, props, run crew, make up, costumes, etc. It was there I discovered I love working with my hands. Building and using tools; even the demolition aspect of strike was satisfying. But as I became more specialized it left little room for a hobby such as random prop building. As times got tough, I found myself looking for work anywhere I could get it. I now have the training to work in minor construction/repair. Outside all day, utilizing the skills that I thought were locked away forever.
But just like that regrettable office job, when you find yourself feeling dejected and soulless, remind yourself that this is not what you have to do, it’s what you want to do. When you don’t want to do it anymore, stop. There are other fields, other avenues to explore. Do you like making crafts? Make them (and sell them)! Do you like dogs? Walk them, wash them; people will pay you for that! In my years as a theatre artist I have also been, a cashier, an office assistant, a teacher’s assistant, a photographer’s assistant, a retail salesperson, and swimming pool servicer. I don’t regret taking any one of these non-theatre jobs; but I don’t regret leaving them either.
How do you explore the eccentricities of your personality outside of theatre?
The Student Has a Question(s)
I love college. I go to this great school that’s up and coming in the theatre education world. I major in theatre. I do lots of theatre. Yay college theatre!
But this summer was a glimpse into my future reality, of when I have to do what I’m learning. I’m working as an Assistant House Manager for a theatre company and I love it. I can see myself coming back next summer and doing this after I graduate to. But house management isn’t the only thing I want to do with my life and who knows if I’ll get hired again? Last spring, I sat down with one of my professors to talk about post-college and what I should start to look into. Talking to my professor was good and what I needed to hear but I realized today that he’s not the only industry professional I can ask questions.
So let’s turn the tables on the readers and my fellow bloggers. I share my experiences as the wanna-be-professional, share yours with me! I’m a student, I’m supposed to learn and I want to learn these answers to start with:
How do theatre companies work? (and how should they ideally work?) Can you name some good companies?
Where are good places to do theatre besides the obvious New York City? Are there are Canadian actors out there who can talk to me about Ottawa and Toronto? Especially Ottawa for non-Canadian citizens.
And speaking of New York City, when do you think is a good time or way to move there?
Do you also write plays? What else do you write? Do you find jobs because of your writing?
Do you (or know someone) who successfully works as Non-Equity or do they all eventually get their Equity card?
I’m finding myself getting interested in online work and webseries, what do you know about that?
What do you end up doing immediately post-graduation?
I’m assuming for House Management positions, I’d have to go through the theatre and not by the show to find work. Are there a lot of House Managers out there, or just usually in the bigger theatres? Is there a union, or a way to go about working house management?
What’s your experiences with doing your own work, creating your own art?
What skills do you think are overrated and what ones are more important? (Dance, stage combat, driver’s license, accents, etc.)
So that’s all the questions I have currently…plenty of things for me to investigate more about! And if you just want to tell me the answers, that’s fine too. Can you think of any questions I’m not thinking of?
Actor-Producer Chronicles, Part I: The Beginning
So I’m doin’ this thing.
You know, the one I sorta maybe thought about doing way back in April?
That’s right, I’m the newest actor to dive into self-producing.
A lot has happened since I wrote that initial, full-of-trepidation post. I fell in love with a play to produce. I applied for the rights to said play. I met with some of my most trusted actor-producer friends for advice. I got rejected for the rights to the aforementioned play. I reached out to producer friends for advice on how to proceed and made another attempt at getting approved for those rascally rights. I was still rejected. And with my very first step on the long road of self-producing going so poorly, I was wondering if I was cut out for this at all.
So then I stewed for awhile. I threw myself into looking for another play to fall in love with. Found nothing just right. But what I did do right was put it out into the universe that I was looking for something perfect by mentioning it in my actor newsletter. Which one of the playwrights I’ve worked with a lot read. And what did he do? He offered to write me a play about…whatever I wanted. Which just so happened to be Anne Boleyn, as I had fallen in love with her story from the first play.
So what did he do? He wrote me a really kick-ass play about Anne Boleyn. With me in mind. So now? I’m producing and starring in the world premiere of this play. And I couldn’t be more excited about it. I’ve already thrown myself headfirst into budgeting, grant writing, planning an initial reading, coordinating a promotional photo shoot, creating a social media presence for the show, crafting a Tudor crown from scratch…you name it.
Am I still a bit scared and overwhelmed about the whole thing? Yeah. But I haven’t been this energized working on anything in a long time, and that feels really good. And also? This play is gonna rock.
Check out our facebook page and follow us on twitter to stay-up-to-date. You’re definitely going to want to see this.
The Green Room 