Never be afraid to humiliate yourself…
I’m taking a class on Marketing for Playwrights taught by Chris Burney and Don-Scott Cooper from Second Stage. This class shatters my soul just a little bit. Chris and Don-Scott are fantastic; they have a vast knowledge and amazing view of the business and, so, are able to help playwrights in a highly specialized way. However, they are totally honest with us. Which can be a little soul shattering. But they do give us some glue.
Two weeks ago, Chris came into class where we had set up our chairs in a circle. There are 30 of us in a room, so the circle is what you’d naturally finagle yourselves into. Chris walked to the corner outside the circle and sat in a red stool. “Did any of you see this red stool back here? Why didn’t anyone sit on it?” I don’t know, Chris. We always sit in a circle and I need more lumbar support than that. “In a room of 30 playwrights, where you are trying to stand out, why would you sit in a circle?” Well… touché, Mr. Burney.
Now, here’s the thing about me. No offense meant to my mature peers, who I respect immensely for either coming to the craft late in life or continuing to plug away for so long, but I am not willing to wait 40 years to be making my living as a playwright/lyricist. I am surrounded (and pleasantly so) by writers aged 30 and under that are paying their bills with what they write and I’m going to be 25 this summer. Tick, tick, tick. In addition, Second Stage has given me an artistic hard-on since I saw my first show there last year and the Associate Artist Director, as far as I’m concerned, just gave me a challenge.
So, I decide to do something at my next class. I have a stomach ache for two weeks thinking about what I’m going to do. I don’t sleep well for the three nights before. The day of, I’m pretty sure I’m going to puke. I’m walking into Primary Stages and my heart is banging against my chest. I walk into the classroom and my hands start to shake. I don’t look at anyone. I walk to a chair in the circle, pick it up and place it in the center of the room. I sit down. Take out my notebook. And look up at Chris Burney who looks at me and says, “Hm, alright.” After sitting there for three minutes, Chris speaks again, “You’re not joking are you?” “Nope. I’m not joking.” “Okay.”
For the first 30-45 minutes of class, I remain in the center of the room, obscuring many people’s views, avoiding many people’s eyes, and desperately trying to look composed while my hands shake in my lap. (Despite what some of my classmates may have thought, I was NOT enjoying this.)
Chris did finally ask me to join the circle (thank baby Moses), but my point was made. I was going to make Chris Burney notice me and show him that I am willing to put myself at risk to make my career happen.
We’re in a competitive business and often our work can’t carry us alone. Actors go to EPAs for shows that are already cast, playwrights submit to theaters that throw their work into the recycling bin, and who knows how directors get work! (I got my recent directing gig through a Twitter follower! What??) Chris needed to teach us that we have to make ourselves stand out among the throngs by being fearless, creative and utterly ourselves. That stunt I pulled did have the potential to be disastrous and it’s not something I’d try with many people. That was tailored to the person I was trying to reach, as my future stunts will be as well!
So, I’ve added an addendum to my motto, “If it scares me, I should do it.”: “Never be afraid to humiliate yourself.”
Be brilliant, be happy!
The Play without the Wright?
Okay, I know, everyone says “you couldn’t do theatre without [insert your field].” But, when it gets down to basics, we need: first and foremost, a script. The good thing is that there are many, many fabulous scripts out there that continue to be produced, and will be for all of eternity. But, it is so important to keep producing new plays, because these are the running commentaries of our time. New plays sing the voices of a generation. Not to mention – one of the easiest ways to get an audience into your theatre is to say they are watching “the premiere.” Something new is exciting, yet to be judged by the “jaded” New Yorker – and believe me, they come running to be the first one to praise or slam a new piece. Exciting… and terrifying.
First productions are a crucial part of the writing process. Yes, I said “first production” preceding the completion of the “writing process.” A true writer can always add to or edit their work. J.M. Barrie, a personal favorite of mine, made tweaks to “Peter Pan” as a play well after it’s 1,000th performance. It is so important to see if the dialogue, stage directions, and subtext read to an audience once the play is finally on its feet.
I have fallen into a beloved habit of working mostly with new work (be it my own, or from a Stage Manager’s perspective). I’ll tell you: the most successful plays come from having the playwright in rehearsal, with proper rehearsal etiquette. Yes, it may work on paper, when you have a copy in front of you, but many times drafts fall flat when they are on their feet because it’s not natural, it doesn’t create an interesting stage picture, or a million other reasons. If, as a playwright, you refuse to be in rehearsals until tech (you know, the fun part for you when there are many people pulling their hair out trying to get what you wrote to come to life), but at tech it is too late. In rehearsal, an actor will improvise a line that ends up getting added into the script. Stage Direction moments get adjusted because “yeah, that stage direction doesn’t really work there.” You don’t get this luxury in drafts, or reading circles, or even in staged readings. Once an actor has props and a set to go with the dialogue, you may realize that he/she needs more dialogue because it takes more than 4 lines to chop an onion. Or you didn’t account for the necessary quick change the actor must make.
My point? Sit in on rehearsals for your first (or second or third if they’ll let you) productions. Don’t be afraid to adjust the script, and listen to the frustration of the actors and director (if they are all having trouble with a singular moment… maybe the fault lies in vague writing). It’s okay to change things, it’s preferable to change things, in the rehearsal room. Don’t wait until after the first preview when no one was getting your jokes.
Just remember a playwright’s place in rehearsals:
The Playwright’s Proper Rehearsal Etiquette
1. Do not interrupt rehearsal. If you have a line change, an idea, or a question, sidebar with the director a moment and if the change is approved (don’t forget this step:) give the change to Stage Management so that everyone’s on the same page.
2. Do not blame the actors, the designers, and the director for the reason your play does not work. A well-written play will still come across with the most amateur team. Take a look at your writing before you point fingers.
3. A 15 location show is so Arthur Miller. Contemporary shows get produced because they are written to be producible. The days of the lights going blue while the crew changes the scene every 20 minutes are over. If you see the set designer’s struggles in rehearsal, go back and look at your script to see which scenes could possibly take place in the same location.
4. Remember that the director, design team, and actors are not privy to the inner workings of your imagination. Plays are left to interpretation, that’s the nature of the beast. Do your job, write the dialogue and the stage directions (and don’t be afraid to insist the stage directions be adhered to – it’s the first production and probably the only time you’ll get this luxury). Don’t try to design the set, direct, or cast the show, you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you see what people present you with.
5. If you write an autobiographical work, remove yourself from it as much as you can. I don’t recommend writing truly autobiographical plays, as they tend to be painful to watch and the events will never be able to recreate themselves the way you remember them.
Happy Writing…
The Public Library Is Your Best Friend
Are you using the public library to your best advantage?
I’ve been an addicted reader for pretty much my entire life, so libraries and I have always had a kind of a special bond. But when I moved to New York, I discovered a new love affair with the library caused by 1. It’s free-ness combined with my lack of money-ness, and 2. The incredible breadth of what the library has to offer here in the city.
First of all, you do all know about the magical Holds, right? How if you have a library account, you can go online to nypl.org, search for whatever you’re looking for, click “place hold,” and the library fairies will grab your requested material from any library in the city and bring it to your library to await your triumphant arrival to the holds shelf? When I first learned of this magical system, I was totally enchanted with the New York Public Library system. And now, every time I walk into my library knowing that there’s something waiting for me on the holds shelf, I feel kinda like a library VIP. I know, it’s silly, but humor me.
There are also several theatre companies that do readings, productions, and open mics at various libraries across the city. Break a Leg Productions is one such company, and Shakespeare Saturdays is another event that you can get involved in.
But my favorite way to use the library is for audition materials and production research. The library has pretty much everything you could possibly need for this — play scripts, musical scores, broadway cast albums, acting technique books — you name it! Want to read every play ever written by Paula Vogel for your play reading book club? You can! For free! Need to look for new song ideas, but don’t want to buy a score that you won’t end up using? Check out as much music as you want to before committing! Would like to get an intro to Meisner before your first class? Borrow “On Acting”! The possibilities for the library’s usefulness in this sense is truly limitless.
And certainly don’t forget to check out the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center, where you can watch videos of present and past Broadway productions that have been filmed for exactly this purpose. Just don’t forget to call ahead so they can have the show you want to watch ready.
Plus, there are so many other types of non-performing arts books that can be useful in your career. Motivational books, like Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, or Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, can also have a profound effect on who you are, both as a performer and as a person.
So what do you think — has this spurred you on to use the library in new ways? Do you have other ideas for creative ways to best use this amazing resource? Please share!
10% Show 90% Business
Today I heard some shocking news. My mentor told me – very casually – that he plans on stepping away from Stage Managing. Permanently. Why? Because of the lack of professionalism in a lot of today’s theatre.
My work-related headaches are usually due to unprofessional Designers. Designers who don’t read the script; Designers who don’t read the rehearsal reports; Designers who don’t attend Designer Run Throughs or Production Meetings; Designers who expect Stage Management to do their job for them (and yes, I’ve pulled the “It’s against my contract to find/build/make props, I’m AEA” So sue me, that’s what unions are for.).
I think the last straw for my mentor has been this lack of professionalism from Designers. Oh, the stories I could tell you about the spats I’ve gotten into with a past Props Mistress. [“List says ‘raw pork’, but I bought fishsticks.” “BUT THE LINE REFERS TO HIM EATING RAW PORK.” “What? Why? That makes no sense” “READ THE SCRIPT; IT’S ABSURDEST!!!”]
One of the hardest things I’ve done is working in Repertory Theatre. Juggling 6 original (and constantly changing) shows in simultaneous rehearsals can be daunting for a Design Team. No doubt. But, if you can’t handle the pressure, don’t apply for the job. It seems that older and experienced designers are moving up, moving on, or retiring. The past year while working, I’ve noticed not only more women designers (woo-hoo) but significantly younger designers as well. Unfortunately, these younger designers – even the ones from the Ivy League Schools – have displayed an appalling lack of professionalism.
When one designer slacks off or gets behind, it affects the entire design team. Let’s say a Scenic Designer gets behind and rehearsals have started. Effects: The TD can’t build without finalized plans. The Props Mistress can’t purchase furniture when she has no idea what it’s supposed to look like. The Costume Designer can’t start because she doesn’t know what color the set will be. The Lighting Designer has no idea what he’s supposed to light. The DIRECTOR can’t stage the shows because there is no ground plan. And the Stage Manager because incredibly frustrated, because it feels like everyone – including the actors – are just wasting time on extended (and unnecessary) table work because everyone’s waiting on what the Set will look like.
“She’s young. She’s green” Again, I hear, “No offense, but it may have something to do with your generation.” I’ll be the first one to tell you that sometimes I want nothing to do with “my” generation. I’m 24. I hear these excuses concerning people as old as 30. I can handle my job. If you didn’t get the training necessary to do your job from college and/or grad school, try an internship. I believe there are talented people out there who deserve your position, but for some reason can’t seem to get their first break.
“I would rather do something I hate, than hate something I love.” This from a frustrated professional who has seen the decline in professionalism the industry has suffered from younger and inexperienced people entering the industry. I am the first one to defend young professionals, and scoff at those who judge me by my age before they see my work. But, I believe I am beginning to understand why: the people who judge me have been burned by people my age due to lack of experience/professionalism. And, I can’t really blame them for being reserved when they notice my age. But, c’mon young Tech Theatre Crew! Help me break this stereotype!
I count myself lucky every day I walk out of a rehearsal room or a theater, knowing that there are hundreds – if not thousands – of hard-working young stage managers out there who would kill to have their AEA card and be working professionally. All I ask is that if you’ve committed yourself that is this life in theatre – whatever your field – do it with tact, professionalism, and respect. As a good friend once told me, “It’s 10% Show, 90% Business” But at the same time, my lifelong motto: “it’s only work if you’d rather be doing something else.” And there’s nothing else I’d rather do than work in theatre. Respect the industry. Do your job.
Taking a Much-Needed Vacay
Lately, my husband and I have been desperately hankering for a vacation.
It doesn’t have to look like this (although wouldn’t that be nice??):
It just needs to be somewhere away from the stresses of the city, with ample supplies of wine and time to barbecue and lay on the beach. Doesn’t that sound heavenly?
We work very hard and our life can be a bit frazzled at times, so some time off is definitely necessary now and again. I’ve even got some really affordable and fun-sounding plans in the works, but now I’ve hit a roadblock — how to schedule it.
My question for you fellow actors, designers, and other gig-type peeps out there is: how do you find the time to take vacations?
In an industry that’s so fast-paced and where great opportunities come up so last-minute, it seems a bit overwhelming to say, “Well, I’m just going to peace out to the beach for a week in June.” I never know what I’m doing three months from now, which can be frustrating for someone who loves to plan, but what are you gonna do? As far as a vacation goes, though, I’m afraid that if I wait much longer to make plans for June, our options will be severely limited
So please share with me your “how to keep from being burnt out” strategies. Do you just book out with your agent way in advance and say no to gigs that conflict with the vacation, or do you suck it up and wait to book a trip until the very last minute? I’m dying to know.
Writer’s block sucks. It is the most frustrating, infuriating (insert profanity here) challenges in writing.
There are books, websites, classes and support groups (which disguise their purpose by calling themselves “writers groups”) dedicated to being the writer’s Mucinex. I’ll include some suggested reading at the end of this post, but first, here are my favorite ways to unclog.
1. Stream of consciousness writing: This is a common way to just get yourself going. Just sit down and write whatever pops into your head. Don’t let your pen stop. Don’t worry about making sense or using correct grammar. Give yourself a minimum time or page count (I usually do 20 minutes or 4 full notebook pages) and don’t let yourself stop until you reach the minimum. Feel free to go over. Not only is this therapeutic and freeing, sometimes you end up with a really amazing idea amongst the gibberish!
2. 10 ideas in 20 minutes: This is my favorite thing to do. First, turn off the cell phone and tell the roommates to use their headphones for the next 20 minutes. You need 20 minutes devoid of distraction. Get your pen and paper in hand and either lay or sit down; the most important thing is to be totally comfortable. Relax and wander through your mind. Let thoughts rise to the surface. When an idea strikes you, whatever it is, write it down. It can be as simple as “A gangster falls in love with a missionary” or as complete as a paragraph outlining the plot (in this case, Guys and Dolls). Don’t set a timer for this, the point of the time limit is to give you a sense of urgency so you don’t just sit around getting bored. Try to get your 10 ideas formed and down on paper in 20 minutes. These little sessions have yielded incredible results for me including my one act play First Dance and the children’s musical I’m developing right now.
3. The Tour Guide: I learned this one from Rogelio Martinez (All Eyes and Ears, Fizz) and I think it’s brilliant. Pick a famous pop culture or historical figure. Write a monologue for a tour guide speaking to a group of tourists about that person while in a place of significance. Ex: A tour guide talks about The Poe Toaster at Edgar Allen Poe’s grave. Once you’ve done that, write a scene between one of the tourists and the tour guide a few hours after the tour has ended. Finally, write a third scene between the tourist and tour guide three months after their conversation in scene two. You now have three different scenes with different structures, tone, intimacy and history to expand on. A colleague from one of my classes wrote a full length play starting with scenes one and two of this exercise.
4. News Archives: The New York Times website is rich with stories to spark your imagination. Enter a random date in the search engine and see what was happening. Many people like to pay particular attention to the obituaries since they give the scope of a person’s life in just a few sentences. I favor the Police Blotters; there are some very colorful criminals out there! You can take this a step further by weaving two events on that date into your story, having Character A coming from one event and Character B from the other. This exercise produced my ten-minute play Memphis Changed.
5. Give yourself parameters: Many artists fool themselves into thinking that if they put parameters on their work, it will be strangled. Wrong-o. When you create obstacles for yourself, it forces you to be more creative in reaching your goals and makes for more compelling theatre. When I started scene two of exercise #3, I had no idea what to write about. I started by putting the tour guide on a bench with a suitcase next to him. Now, whatever I did, I had to deal with that suitcase. So, instead of the looming and terrifying question of “Where is this scene going to go?” I could find my way to the answer of “Why does he have a suitcase?” a much less daunting task and something fun instead of “important”.
Here are some books and websites to help you out in your brain mucus moments:
Books
The Standards: The Story by Robert McKee, On Writing by Stephen King, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
My Ultimate Find: On Writing Horror: A Handbook by The Horror Writers Association, Edited by Mort Castle (If any group knows how to write good story, it’s this group! Also where I learned exercise #2!)
Websites
The Standards: Writer’s Block Help, Language is a Virus, New York Times Archives
My Ultimate Find: NYPD Blotter, Absolutely anything that mentions Lindsay Lohan… we all have our inspiration.
Microphone Mishaps
Okay, imagine this scenario: you’re doing a musical.
This means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Audio Engineers will think “dear god, how many mics?”; Actors either “I didn’t even audition, I can’t sing/dance!” or “I belted my heart out and that damned audience better appreciate it!”; Lighting Designers: “well, that adds about 70 more cues…”; set designers “will the dancing ruin my set?”; Directors “I hope I get along with the choreographer!”; Choreographers: “I hope I get along with the director!”; and Stage Managers “Please, Dionysus, do not let anything go wrong with the mics!”
But, inevitably, there is a time in almost every musical I’ve heard of that something goes wrong with the mics. We can all play the blame game: “That actor put his mic on mute!!!” or “that audio engineer doesn’t know how to mix” or “that producer didn’t buy enough batteries.” None of these fix the problem as it arises in front of an audience. A decision must be made. Audio mistakes are the most obvious in any production: if the phone doesn’t ring, if the actor’s voice is cutting in and out (not to mention the dreaded FEEDBACK). If a lighting cue or almost anything else is missed, an audience is most likely not to even notice. But you can’t ignore an audio mistake, especially in a musical.
So what do you do? My rule as a Stage Manager is to ALWAYS have a hand-held fool-proof microphone on standby. “But what if you’re doing something period like Oklahoma?!” Relax you dramaturgs, my point is that once the microphone problem arises, the audience is already taken out of the period and just wants to hear something a little more pleasant than a screeching microphone and a distressed actor. (I’ve even heard applause when the actor accepted the hand-held from the techie and continued with the power ballad). 2nd: ALWAYS have a back-up wireless that’s tested before each show so that once the actor is off-stage, they can switch the mic instead of wasting precious quick change seconds trying to trouble-shoot the mic.
But, not everyone foresees the problem, and some do not handle the challenge of a problem mic with the most dignity. Some of my favorite microphone mishaps (the names and shows have been changed, to protect the guilty):
BAD ACTOR: Huck Finn in Big River
Huck is about to head onstage for the 2nd act of the final performance of a fantastically reviewed/sold out/just-plain-fun run. He hugs his ASM, his cast is holding back closing-night tears and he reminds everyone to “just have fun!” Huck heads onstage (where he only comes off for one quick change during the second act). Suddenly, we hear on headset just before the showstopping: Waiting for the Light to Shine, “We just lost Huck’s mic.” At this point in the play, 3 smaller roles have completed their solo lines. The ASM notifies them of the situation and everything is done to prevent embarrassment. Before the solo, an actor (in character) checks to be sure Huck’s mic was not accidentally turned off: result negative. The solo begins, Huck is for the first time aware of the problem and looks in contempt at the audio engineer with eyes of fire. He looks at the Stage Management booth and stops singing. The musical director vamps and an ensemble member graciously offers his wireless microphone. Huck tosses the microphone to the floor, breaking it. The musical director continues to vamp. A techie offers a hand-held. Huck shoves the techie off-stage, refusing the mic. Huck finally begins his song (emphasizing weak projection) as the audio engineer does his best to mix the mess this dramatic moment has become. Huck comes off-stage and throws his prop at the ASM’s head, screaming “this is f***ing ridiculous!” Huck refuses to put on a new mic that is standing by and finishes the show with a low-energy performance.
BAD STAGE MANAGER: Oliver!
Nancy is alone onstage, prepping for the long awaited As Long as He Needs Me. The A2 (backstage audio engineer) is standing by with both an extra wireless mic & a hand-held. Halfway through the song, Nancy’s mic receives horrid feedback and is cutting in and out. “I’m going out to offer the wireless” says the A2. “NO!!!!” responds the stage manager “Go get Nancy’s understudy! Don’t you dare go out there, it will break the illusion”; “What do you want me to do?” responds the bewildered A2; “Have her start singing into the hand-held, we’ll cut Nancy’s mic”; “Are you serious?”; “I’m the Stage Manager, it’s my call, do it!” The A2 does his duty, receives confused murmur from the audience, a (rightfully so) pissed off Nancy, and an apologetic understudy muddle through the show in near-rage. The Stage Manager refuses to admit his call was awful and unprofessional.
These are the microphone mishaps I’ve witnessed. Let me know, in your respective position (or as an audience member), what would you think is best to be done with there is an obvious microphone problem?
WWW.itsallaboutmyactingcareerhere.COM
One of my absolute favorite actor tools is my website. It’s my personal opinion that every actor should have one — I think of it like my acting business’ storefront.
If you don’t have a website, where do you send people who are interested in possibly hiring you, but want more information? I love being able to have my website listed on business cards, or mentioning it in cover letters to industry peeps. I also love that it’s a place where people can get to know a little bit more about who I am as a person and what my unique style is without having to ask me. And honestly, if you’re running a business in 2011, which every actor (and stage manager/designer/director/etc for that matter!) is, why wouldn’t you have a website? It’s such an easy way to take ahold of your online image and presence!
Have I convinced you currently non-website-operating readers out there yet? Some of you might be putting off getting a website for fear of the expense or the difficulty of setting one up, but I assure you that I neither spent an arm and a leg getting mine designed, nor have any real skill with website coding or any other craziness like that.
If you want a relatively affordable website that still looks great and you have a Mac (or a friend who does!), then all you have to do is exactly what I did. I’ve shared my “secret” with so many friends that I figured it would be worth typing it all out to share with you. For those of you who are smarter than me tech-wise and understand fancy things about the internet, this will be obvious, but not all of us are that gifted, so humor me 🙂
1. Use iWeb to design your site. For those of you who don’t know, it’s in your applications folder and it’s just about the most user-friendly program possible. Open it up, do some exploring (it functions a lot like Powerpoint, if you’re familiar with that already), and you’ll have an attractive, professional-looking site designed in no time.
2. Purchase hosting. Though there is cheaper hosting out there, I used MobileMe as my hosting option because it is designed to be so easy to integrate with your iWeb site. It’s only $99 for the year and they offer you the first two months free, so you can initially get your site online without paying anything! The best part about using MobileMe is that when your website is finished in iWeb, it literally only takes one click of “Publish to MobileMe” to get it online.
3. Purchase a domain name. If you want your website address to be more http://www.redheadedactress.com and less http://www.wholetonofjunk.com/redheadedactress, then you need to purchase your own domain name. There are lots of places to do this from, but I used GoDaddy for it’s $12 a year domains and ease of integration with MobileMe (are you sensing a trend here? for a blogger, I sure like my internet-related things to be easy…). There are a few settings you need to tweak on your GoDaddy account and you can find a step-by-step guide on the GoDaddy site, then you head over to your MobileMe account, enter your website name in the personal domain box, and you’re golden!
The thing about iWeb sites is that there is literally no easier way to design and set up your own website. Sure, it’s not the most customizeable site out there, but it does everything you need it to for an actor website and it’s friendly enough for those of us who don’t really know what we’re doing with fancy internet lingo to be able to figure it out. And if you ever get lost, just google “iweb help” and a slew of sites come up that help you troubleshoot. If all else fails, hit me up on twitter and I’ll do my best to help you figure out what’s going on or direct you to someone who can (i.e., my twitter tech genius friend, Gary).
Do you have an actor website already? Do you know of another easy way to get one going?
The Green Room 
