So to put it bluntly Monday was a kick in the pants.
Luckily for me, I ended up going with two of my high school friends, Kate and Christian, who are both maaaaarvelously talented (it makes me kinda nauseous). There's something to be said for safety in numbers. We waited in line from 9AM until about 1PM when we all got in. we were lined up at an open door, with one person at the table, and we went in one at a time, sang, and left. It was FAST. I was pretty impressed at their ability to just see all these people at face value.
Now the not-so-thrilling part of the day:
I felt horribly unprofessional. I had no headshot, I thought my resume was a piece of crap, and I felt, quite frankly, completely inferior just because of that. I just felt kind of immature and not prepared for this business. and that kind of scares me.
I know that if i put my mind to it I can put together a fabulous resume to send to Will Cantler and get my ass in gear to get a good headshot, so if you see me around the playhouse, bother me about it.
all for now.
xxx
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
news flash
I'm going to go to an open call on Monday.
It's for Spiderman the musical.
I know I'll be betraying Batman but it could be fun. And it will be crucial to see whether or not I will be able to handle this lifestyle.
Quite frankly I like auditioning. I like the thrill, the competition, hating other perfectly nice girls who just so happen to be so good for the role that I want them to fall and break an ankle.
I also THRIVE on failure. I don't think I would be the kind of auditioner I am if I didn't fail many times. It took me three tries to get into my college a capella group and when I did I cried it felt so good. If I didn't get cut my sophomore year in college it would not have made me work twice as hard at the next audition. every no makes me push myself further.
so, going into monday: no no no no no no no no no BRING IT ON.
It's for Spiderman the musical.
I know I'll be betraying Batman but it could be fun. And it will be crucial to see whether or not I will be able to handle this lifestyle.
Quite frankly I like auditioning. I like the thrill, the competition, hating other perfectly nice girls who just so happen to be so good for the role that I want them to fall and break an ankle.
I also THRIVE on failure. I don't think I would be the kind of auditioner I am if I didn't fail many times. It took me three tries to get into my college a capella group and when I did I cried it felt so good. If I didn't get cut my sophomore year in college it would not have made me work twice as hard at the next audition. every no makes me push myself further.
so, going into monday: no no no no no no no no no BRING IT ON.
Panic Attack!
I feel that this is long overdue:
The single most important thing for myself that I have learned this summer is how not to panic when problems come up.
This job is about problems, and when the crap hits the fan, it's part of my job to deal with it.
In the past I have been an extremely on-edge person. I have my father and his investmentbankinghighstressneverseethelightofday kind of mentality to thank for that. When problems used to come up I would either get upset or whine and complain or worst of all, panic!
Here, the goal is to remain calm. For this company, the manager has to be the rock, the only sane one in the room. if the company manager is panicking what the hell is the company supposed to do!?
I just think back to my week "alone" at the Playhouse. We had a hotel problem, and I had no idea how to solve it. So instead of panicking I was kept calm by Annie Keefe and Jodie and the rest of the interns and of course Bruce kept me calm via 10 or 20phone calls a day, and I was able to get things done efficiently! Also, blasting Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" on the car ride home every night helped too.
I'm learning how to relax! and when I'm keeping a level head I find myself to be a much more pleasant person to be around, I enjoy every day more, I'm more productive, and the problems, well, keep 'em comin', I dare ya!
The single most important thing for myself that I have learned this summer is how not to panic when problems come up.
This job is about problems, and when the crap hits the fan, it's part of my job to deal with it.
In the past I have been an extremely on-edge person. I have my father and his investmentbankinghighstressneverseethelightofday kind of mentality to thank for that. When problems used to come up I would either get upset or whine and complain or worst of all, panic!
Here, the goal is to remain calm. For this company, the manager has to be the rock, the only sane one in the room. if the company manager is panicking what the hell is the company supposed to do!?
I just think back to my week "alone" at the Playhouse. We had a hotel problem, and I had no idea how to solve it. So instead of panicking I was kept calm by Annie Keefe and Jodie and the rest of the interns and of course Bruce kept me calm via 10 or 20phone calls a day, and I was able to get things done efficiently! Also, blasting Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" on the car ride home every night helped too.
I'm learning how to relax! and when I'm keeping a level head I find myself to be a much more pleasant person to be around, I enjoy every day more, I'm more productive, and the problems, well, keep 'em comin', I dare ya!
Theater for the mind, body, and soul
"WHY THEATER?!"
I thought about that question from both a performer's and and audience member's perspective. Why do I make theater? I would like to say that I perform to inspire others or to make people think, but I can't take too much credit for that. It's the writer's privelage, to create a story or a piece that actors can connect with and in turn be the vessel through which the story is conveyed.
I think a better question might be "why do I go to the theater?" Probably because my life is too darn boring so I need someone else's experiences to justify my faith in the human race. wow that sounds way too depressing. Trust me it's not! I think that that's why most people go to the theater, to bear witness to someone else's drama and not feel that their own is too much.
People desperately need the theater. It's the best way to take a break from their lives. Looking at human nature from afar is inspiring. and you learn from others' mistakes, even though they aren't real. For example, greek tragedies. Sure that's gross hearing about some guy who slept with his mother. But what do you learn from it? "Don't make rash decisions and think before you act". A pretty good message I might say.
I know this sounds ridiculous and it isn't theater but it's clooose. I loved the movie WALL-E. Stay with me i think it's a good example!! Without being preachy, WALL-E taught humans a lesson in loving mother nature while enjoying a heartwarming story about robot love. i think WALL-E was a wonderful balance of entertainment and lessons. If we're talking about art as comfort food: WALL-E was a well balanced and tasty meal.
I thought about that question from both a performer's and and audience member's perspective. Why do I make theater? I would like to say that I perform to inspire others or to make people think, but I can't take too much credit for that. It's the writer's privelage, to create a story or a piece that actors can connect with and in turn be the vessel through which the story is conveyed.
I think a better question might be "why do I go to the theater?" Probably because my life is too darn boring so I need someone else's experiences to justify my faith in the human race. wow that sounds way too depressing. Trust me it's not! I think that that's why most people go to the theater, to bear witness to someone else's drama and not feel that their own is too much.
People desperately need the theater. It's the best way to take a break from their lives. Looking at human nature from afar is inspiring. and you learn from others' mistakes, even though they aren't real. For example, greek tragedies. Sure that's gross hearing about some guy who slept with his mother. But what do you learn from it? "Don't make rash decisions and think before you act". A pretty good message I might say.
I know this sounds ridiculous and it isn't theater but it's clooose. I loved the movie WALL-E. Stay with me i think it's a good example!! Without being preachy, WALL-E taught humans a lesson in loving mother nature while enjoying a heartwarming story about robot love. i think WALL-E was a wonderful balance of entertainment and lessons. If we're talking about art as comfort food: WALL-E was a well balanced and tasty meal.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Company
To be redundant, my position this summer is in Company Management. I feel that it is necessary to define what a "company" means. All you Skidmore kids out there, you know what I'm talking about. At the theater department at Skidmore, we stress the importance of the company, that one group of people works together doing every task needed to achieve one goal: to put on a great piece of theater. When we're feeling sappy (and also want waaay too much attention during Theater Company) we say that "Theater company is like a family, we all love each other". At Skidmore that seems really cheesey, but at the Playhouse, I finally am starting to see what Company means. This theater has felt more like a family than almost any other theater I have worked for.
Now that I have established the similarity between Company and Family here, I should probably mention that Bruce knows how to take care of this family. It really does take a special person to know how to manage a company, one who just works well with people: who can remember who is a vegetarian and who isn't, what flavor steaz is most popular, who likes pepsi vs. coke, etc. You have to be ATTENTIVE and be able to pick up on the habits/likes/dislikes of every company member.
and what is most remarkable about Bruce is that when I say he is attentive to every company member, I don't just mean the actors or directors or stage managers. I mean EVERYONE. including the interns and apprentices. I've never felt so special not just as an employee, but as a person. I think that even if I don't end up working as a company manager, I would like to be as caring and as attentive as my boss is.
Now that I have established the similarity between Company and Family here, I should probably mention that Bruce knows how to take care of this family. It really does take a special person to know how to manage a company, one who just works well with people: who can remember who is a vegetarian and who isn't, what flavor steaz is most popular, who likes pepsi vs. coke, etc. You have to be ATTENTIVE and be able to pick up on the habits/likes/dislikes of every company member.
and what is most remarkable about Bruce is that when I say he is attentive to every company member, I don't just mean the actors or directors or stage managers. I mean EVERYONE. including the interns and apprentices. I've never felt so special not just as an employee, but as a person. I think that even if I don't end up working as a company manager, I would like to be as caring and as attentive as my boss is.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Sitting alone in the Production Office
At the strong encouragement of our lovely Managing Directer, Jodi, I have started my own blog about my summer at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT.
I am a member of the Intern class of 2008 this summer. My position is in Company Management, which includes catering to the needs of actors/directors/designers etc. and also the staff members. I also deal a little with contracts and payroll. For the most part my job has included transporting actors to and from the train station in a big green van that seats 12 people. If you can imagine me at 5 feet tall behind the wheel of this monster...you would laugh your head off. If I could guess, I would say this thing is about the size of my apartment next year.
I have been here for over a month already, which is incredible since I thought that spending three whole months here would be mundane. Time flies when you're having fun, eh!?
So here's some more background info about cool stuff that goes on at the playhouse: 16 interns: 12 girls, 3 boys, all pretty awesome to hang out with. I'm so happy that I'm living with the interns. I'm from New Canaan, only 20 min. away, and I thought that I would be able to commute easily, but I have found it WAY more fun to live in my awesome beach house 5 min. from the beach in Fairfield with the rest of the interns who I see every day. Last summer as an intern I had to live by myself and let me tell you in hindsight that was really miserable. On our first day here, Jodi told us that these were the people we were going to know the rest of our lives, and getting to live with them certainly helps!
Ok Cole just called places for act 2 for Scramble! (more about that in a later post) and I have to go put beer in a cooler (de life is hard)
I am a member of the Intern class of 2008 this summer. My position is in Company Management, which includes catering to the needs of actors/directors/designers etc. and also the staff members. I also deal a little with contracts and payroll. For the most part my job has included transporting actors to and from the train station in a big green van that seats 12 people. If you can imagine me at 5 feet tall behind the wheel of this monster...you would laugh your head off. If I could guess, I would say this thing is about the size of my apartment next year.
I have been here for over a month already, which is incredible since I thought that spending three whole months here would be mundane. Time flies when you're having fun, eh!?
So here's some more background info about cool stuff that goes on at the playhouse: 16 interns: 12 girls, 3 boys, all pretty awesome to hang out with. I'm so happy that I'm living with the interns. I'm from New Canaan, only 20 min. away, and I thought that I would be able to commute easily, but I have found it WAY more fun to live in my awesome beach house 5 min. from the beach in Fairfield with the rest of the interns who I see every day. Last summer as an intern I had to live by myself and let me tell you in hindsight that was really miserable. On our first day here, Jodi told us that these were the people we were going to know the rest of our lives, and getting to live with them certainly helps!
Ok Cole just called places for act 2 for Scramble! (more about that in a later post) and I have to go put beer in a cooler (de life is hard)
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