1 December 2005

HEART'S DESIRES

Opening night of Night of the Meek is this Friday!! I would highly suggest coming either the 1st or 2nd week, as the 3rd week is going to be jammed with parents and grandparents. During the 3rd week, we're sharing our stage time with a kids' dance recital/performance/thing, so the theatre will be brimming over with those kids' family. SO! If you want to come the 3rd weekend, I would really recommend reserving tickets now.

Show dates: December 2-17
Fridays & Saturdays @ 8pm
Sundays @ 1pm All tickets are $10

For reservation and more information: 973.259.9187 or go to 12 Miles West's website.

The show is about 45-60 minutes and is more certainly suitable for children.

I'm trying to pull my schedule together, but sometimes there are just too many conflicts to juggle. The choir Christmas concert falls on a Sunday afternoon, which means I would have a performance of Meek and then drive 30 minutes to get to the church for the concert. While that is absolutely doable, the problem lies in conflicts in rehearsal time. Woe.

I'm also going to be doing some stage managing over at The Monster again during all of this, but just for a few days. My schedule didn't allow for more than a 3-performance commitment, but even so, it'll be pleasant to work with the Spotlight On production crew again.

That's about it. No brilliant flashy news to share.

(But I did post again in under a month and a half. Crack open the champagne!)

Had a memorable Thanksgiving, dreading the holiday rush at the malls (Hello, online shopping), but looking forward to spending some quality time with loved ones. Happy Holidays, one and all! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Be safe, share goodwill, and don't give in to the shopping crankiness.

25 October 2005

PEACE, I LEAVE YOU IN PEACE...

I've been remiss in updating this site (again), but now that I have a second to breathe, I thought I'd pounce on the chance to do some writing. Besides, I need to write. It's good for the soul. So here's a summary of the past month. I apologize for not posting in a timely fashion for anyone who visited this site.

Grovel.

SPOTLIGHT ON HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL UPDATES

I've been working as a production assistant at this festival. I do the routine striking of the set at the close of each night I work, and I've also gotten a chance to get back to lighting, which has been a serene experience. A very silent and creative outlet. It was so peaceful, to listen to his music and letting my hands take over, controlling the lights to match the music and the mood. I did this for Robert Vest, who was a delight to watch perform, and I received a surprising number of compliments on the lighting work. I'm grateful, because that means I did a good job for Robert and helped add an extra element to his musical set.

Anyone interested in seeing some festival pieces should hurry - there are only a few more days left!! Working as a P.A. there, I've had the fortune of seeing a variety of work as well as meeting some great people.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE...

I got the opportunity to work with a very talented writer recently. I worked with Andrew years ago, briefly, when I was a stand-in for a week's worth of rehearsal in a show that he was a part of. This time, I got to see him as a director and playwright, and it was quite a good experience. Alice on the Edge was done as a staged reading at The Monster as part of the Spotlight On Halloween festival.

ASSASSINATION OF THE KNIFE ASSASSIN...

Due to the unprofessional attitude of one (who shall temporarily remain nameless) who sports a swelled ego and over-developed sense of importance and has assumed too much power and authority, I was taken off The Knife Assassin for the festival. If ever there was a case of guilty by association, that was me. Despite the protestations and arguments on my behalf, this individual refused to back down from a position that he continues to believe was just. I was furious for a while because as result of this man's unprofessional behavior, insecurities, and presumptuous arrogance, I wasn't allowed to do the job that he had entrusted me to do. He had no complaints about my attitude, professionalism, or performances. Then he fired the assistant director, and based on entirely unsubstantiated paranoia, fired me, fearing the consequences of firing one without the other. It's positively absurd, simply because I had a good working relationship with the A.D. He never approached me to voice his concerns, but simply sent an email one morning and has ducked all of my attempts to contact him ever since. He doesn't know this, but I have emails that were exchanged between him and the A.D., and it absolutely boggles the mind, the mentality of this man.

But I've put it behind me, since I've kept pushing ahead and found other great opportunities that I wouldn't have been able to accept had I continued with TKA. I didn't learn anything from him that would've made me a better performer, and I'm glad to have worked with Andrew and Rodney and Eric, two projects that I've taken on since the gurgling demise of TKA, and people from whom I have taken away lasting lessons.

I've told others about this individual, to keep this from happening to them and to their friends.

THE WAR AT DAWN

Very recently (October 23), I got to work with Eric Alter again, whom I worked with several years ago. I had auditioned for Eric and Rodney several months ago, but didn't win the role. Last Tuesday (10/18), Eric called me to cover 3 roles in his full-length play, The War at Dawn, which was performed at the Beckman Theatre at The American Theatre of Actors in midtown Manhattan. It's about 2 soldiers on the eve of a battle in the year 2010. I received the script on Thursday, had a 3 hour rehearsal on Saturday, and performed on Sunday. I was a little concerned about how it would go when I had no rehearsal time with any of my co-actors except for the one playing Mississippi; my only rehearsal with New York and Tucker came 45 minutes before curtain.

I received a lot of praise about my performance from strangers who spoke to the playwright, from my co-actors, from my boyfriend (who is a very strict critic), and it was exhilarating to stretch my acting muscles again. I had to access a lot of different emotions, some more subtle than others, and mmmmmm, it was a breath of fresh air. I only wish that the characters were more prominent in the story, but they all served their purpose as it was written. The challenge of taking on 3 roles, with 3 days to prepare, with 3 hours of rehearsal with the director, with time with only 1 of 3 co-actors (wait, do you see a pattern here??), was a nice test of my mettle. Surprisingly enough, knowing that William Morris reps were in the audience that afternoon didn't add any stress or anxiety as one would expect.

Hunh.

MOVING FORWARD

I missed the audition for Night of the Meek with 12 Miles West Theatre , but the director still called me and offered me a role. He remembered me from an audition 5 years ago, and while I wasn't offered a lead role, he wanted me involved in some group scenes as well as the movement piece in the beginning, something he described as akin to Stomp. 12 Miles West has a good reputation, and I'm looking forward to working with them and on this Rod Serling piece. Hopefully this will be the beginning of future collaborations with them.

This post is lacking the usual dry humor of my writing (grrrrr), but there was just so much to write that I wanted to get it out of my brain before it fizzled away. And now that I've put pen to paper, my brain has officially fizzled, but not before another self-chastisement for the lack of updates and the promise to try to do better next time.

My virtual self kick-in-the-pants is done.

Repent.

Atone.

Back on my merry way.

19 September 2005

GOES BOTH WAYS...

Thank you so much to everyone who has emailed or called me to give me leads for a new theatre space, in response to my earlier call for help. The sands of time is a-slippin' away from them, so hopefully they'll be able to secure a new lease somewhere in the next few months. I know they're working with a realtor, but every little bit helps!

I'm doing a one-performance reading of Hamlet with a group of very dedicated performers. The reading is this Saturday, September 24th, and it's very casual, very low-key, but intense, nonetheless. I'm reading various smaller roles through the 3-hour performance, and I'll also be reading Hamlet in Act IV.

That's it for right now. An unexpected bombshell just exploded in my face, and now I'm trying to figure out exactly what happened.

2 September 2005

JACKING IN...

I don't have much in the way of news, per se, but I did throw up some pictures from Richard III. They're in .bmp format right now and a little larger than the other pictures I have from the other shows, but I'll find some time soon to resize them down. You don't need to see a giganimous shot of my face, now do you? :-)

The Knife Assassin went...reasonably well. This script is one that I would love to work on and dissect for another 6 months. There's so much to uncover, subtleties that just aren't apparent to you the first, second, third time you read the script. The troupe is adding dates along the way, so I'll try to post up dates, but it's really being done on the fly. I know there is more news brewing in the production staff's kitchen, but they haven't given us a taste yet.

CALL FOR HELP...

I debated this for a long time, to say something or not. For the few of you who know the situation, you'll understand why I hedge and why I continue to feel reluctant. Of those few people, some of you may disagree with me, but I can't stand by and try nothing. I've purposefully left my private life out of my writings, and to post the following violates that rule somewhat, but I think this is a rare exception...

What it ultimately comes down to is that I care about my boyfriend enough to grudgingly put aside my personal feelings and help out however I can, even if helping him means helping the other two there who have tried to interfere in our personal lives and have shown considerable disrespect to us both, especially to him. He would never ask for help, and I am not happy that this helps them, but I do this for him...

The theatre company that he volunteers for is currently in an 11th-hour search for a new location. The landlord has evoked the demolition clause that is in the lease of every tenant in that building, leaving everyone with 6 months to find a new space. From what he's told me, they have until the end of November to vacate their midtown Manhattan location. Attached to the building is an old bar that has reputedly been around for ages. They're trying to push an application through to get this bar declared a historical landmark, which would obviously prevent the demolition of the building. I'm not sure what their chances are there, but they are continuing to try.

So...if anyone has a lead or has any suggestions on finding a new location, please email me as soon as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Despite the grievances, this theatre does have a laudable goal for a mission statement, and many a director/playwright/actor has had the opportunity to get their feet wet here. I know that there are many other theatres in NYC that offer the same platform that this theatre does, but my boyfriend has bled for this company for over 5 years. If this theatre goes down, a part of him will too.

Please email me if you have any questions. I'm unwilling to post too much more on my site (the name of the theatre is conspicuously, and intentionally, absent), as this is a touchy subject, but I will answer your questions if you email me privately.

12 August 2005

I'M LIKE A REVERSED CARTOON...

NOTE: My performance of has been rescheduled for August 27th. If you've already bought tickets for the August 13th performance, La Muse Venale will honor your ticket for the 27th performance. Just let me know who this applies to, so I can alert the theater - they'll have your names down so that come the 27th, they'll know that you're there because of the rescheduling.

Thanks to all those who came out to see Richard III. I didn't feel just quite how exhausting the tour was until it was over. I mean, I was really tired and plumb tuckered out, but it wasn't a conscious "whoooaaaa" until later. Good luck to all of my cast members in their next endeavors! This turned into a nice cast of people to work with, and our last performance was a good bonding experience, which makes the end of the show bitter sweet, though we were all ready to move on to our next jobs.

I'm finally starting to get back to submissions. Talk about bitter sweet :o LOL

That's pretty much it for now. Short and sweet. More updates before too long! You're a DAISY!

28 July 2005

VAUNT VAUNT VAUNT VAUNT...

Our Richard III tour is half over! It's been quite an experience, working out in the oppressing heat and humidity, fighting traffic, gulping down bottle after bottle of water, mosquitoes, etc. The cast finally seems to have bonded after having worked separately for a month. When the cast came together consistently, it took some time to get comfortable with those that had never before been present during our respective rehearsals. Now it feels like a solid group, and I think being aware of each other's personalities and tendencies and mannerisms is finally have a positive effect on the show. I've also been pleasantly surprised at the turnout we've been having, given that the weather has been less than kind. Thank you to everyone who came out to show their support!

NOTE:

CANCELLED: The August 2nd performance has been cancelled.
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE: August 4th at Shetler Studios, New York, NY. 8pm performance

Come out to see it!

The Knife Assassin is still a work in progress and not quite what I was expecting or hoping it would be. I'm still committed to the project, but it's taken some mental readjusting and accepting the project for what it is now and then moving forward. I'm still very much looking forward to developing this intriguing character and seeing how she turns out. As Shrek so sagely put it to Donkey: "[Ogres] are like onions. They have l-a-y-e-r-s!" Well, in that vein, I think this assassin character is like an ogre. LOL Purchase your tickets now via Smarttix!

I have to admit that Richard III has taken up much of my time and I find that I've fallen woefully behind on other important aspects of my life and career. It's slowly starting to settle back into a state of what many people would deem hectic chaotic-ness, but it's a comfort zone. I'm just slightly distressed since I became aware of how many things I've let slide over the past month and a half. Soon to be remedied...

27 June 2005

HE LONGS TO SEE YOUR HEAD...

It's been a busy month, and I'm reveling in the work that I've been doing. Miscellaneous projects here and there, but the biggest project right now is the touring production of Richard III that I'm currently in rehearsals for. In addition to playing Young Prince Edward and Sir James Blunt, I'm also the assistant fight captain as well as part of a trio of musicians to play live music for some of the scene transitions. I'm having a blast with the Battle of Bosworth and fighting with a quarterstaff, kicking the stuffing out of everyone I face on the battle field...except for Richard, of course. I do wish the choreography were more complicated, though, but my responsibility as asst. fight captain does not extend to doing any choreography unless I see something unsafe. I've been given the freedom to rechoreograph a few of my own fights, as has the fight captain, but we do have to respect the director's original choreography as much as possible. Check Hudson Shakespeare's website for show dates and tour locations. There is some talk being rattled around that we might be adding one more performance if the director can finalize a NYC venue. Check back here often for more information on the additional performance.

I recently saw Batman Begins, and while it was a thoroughly enjoyable movie - in my opinion the best of all the previous Batman movies (Christian Bale was the best of the 4 who have taken on the role...again, in my opinion. I could've done without Katie Holmes in the film, but oh well) - I did wish that they didn't switch POV during the fights nearly as quickly and often as they did. It made for interesting viewing, especially for the first fight, but I would've loved to have seen some clear fighting, too.

The 72 hour shootout was completed successfully, and the group got together last night to screen the final product. I must confess that I'm still not accustomed to seeing my face on the screen, so it was hard to watch the short, but the film did look good. The producers will keep us informed as to when the top 5 films will be screened by MTVWorld and when the announcements will be. Our group is tossing around the idea of doing a series of shorts to continue the journey of the different characters. The director pitched the idea to us all last night, and I have to admit, it would be nice to flesh out my character a bit more and to see how the other characters will turn out as well.

I just got cast in a new play, which will be a one-person play that will be entered into one of the NYC festivals. It's still a little unclear as to which festival it will be right now, as festivals are usually a little chaotic at first, but things usually always pull together at the end. The play is called The Knife Assassin, which is a great premise. The playwright originally wrote it for a man, but after auditions were said and done, they ended up casting 1 male and 1 female, and we will each have an understudy. I had the chance to read through part of the script during the audition, and it's very well written, riddled with a range of emotions and shows different depths and complexities to a seemingly simple character, which makes this assassin character so appealing. I'm really excited about this and will post more information as soon as possible.

1 June 2005

UGLY PIG BABY...

What an amazing experience, to perform on Carnegie Hall's stage.

Whoa.

The concert went well, after 2 days of intense rehearsal with Dr. Anne Howard Jones. She's a fantastic teacher and director, and with her, we were able to combine the voices from choirs all over the country into one beautiful sound. Our repetoire included songs from Britten, Fine, and Elgar. Beautiful, beautiful music. I have a picture of us all in front of Carnegie, which I'll put up on my site (one day!). I would have loved to hear how the group sounded from the audience's perspective, but from the feedback of friends seated in the balconies, the sound was amazing. After our portion of the concert, we listened to another choir perform Faure Requiem, so I also caught my first performance in Carnegie Hall that night. The only thing missing from that night that would've made it perfect for me was the attendance of someone I dearly wanted to share the experience with.

Rehearsals for Richard III have begun, though I have not been called to attend just yet. He's mainly working with Richard, Buckingham, and the Queens for now.

I'll be participating in a 72-hour shootout, and our first group meeting is coming up. What a great concept. We put our group together and put in as much planning ahead of time as possible, but here's where it gets interesting: We have no idea what the theme of the film is going to be. Once we get the theme, we have 72 hours to write the story, develop our characters, rehearse, and film it. We've already "cast" the film, and now we're scouting potential shoot locations as best we can without knowing what the story will be. This will be an intense 72 hours of brainstorming, creativity, collaboration, and filming. This is, of course, a competition, and though we're all in this to compete, we also know that our first duty is to tell a story. What makes this great is that everyone who participates in this shootout is very serious about their art, so the quality of the competition is gonna be F-I-E-R-C-E!

23 May 2005

A BREATHTAKING BLEND OF PURPLE AND BLUE...

I just got cast in Hudson Shakespeare's production of Richard III (July 18-August 6). They are touring this summer, with all of their performances in New Jersey and one in Conneticut. Check out their website for dates, times, and locations! I'm very excited to be working on this. I'll be playing Young Prince Edward, Sir James Blunt, and will be one of the principal combatants, most prominently in the Battle of Bosworth. Come see the show!

I also just finished filming a few scenes for an independent film called "Shaolin Jones". They have no website to refer to yet, but it was a good experience. There will be an additional scene for me to shoot later on, one where I will have to perfect my roundhouse kick. If I'm not mistaken, my character is only featured in a few scenes, so I should be wrapped shortly.

Other than that, I've just been preparing for Carnegie Hall. I'm looking forward to the concert. If you're interested in hearing some great choral music, do check out Carnegie Hall's website for ticket information!

Random side note: I recently saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in the movie theatre. Saw the 1:30am showing of it...bloody tired at the end of the movie, but I enjoyed the movie-watching experience without a roomful of hecklers. It was worth seeing on the big screen for all the incredible worlds that they created, but aside from that, I could have waited for the rental.

16 May 2005

MINSK.

Strange how I can be busy and still feel like I'm not working enough...

This past Sunday, I had my spring concert with the St. Dominic Academy's Women's choir in Jersey City. It went pretty well, though it did clearly identify the areas that need some more tweaking. We've got 2 weeks to polish our repetoire before the Carnegie Hall performance.

Our last rehearsal of "Every Man: A Morality Play" is on Tuesday, with performances on Thursday, May 19 and Saturday, May 21 at The Red Room in NYC.

I'll be doing a film shoot on Sunday in Westchester, NY. I'm looking forward to it, even if my character is only in a scene or two. Nice solid film credit. I also just finished taping an audition DVD to send to LA for a film to be shot in Thailand. I hope I sent the DVD off in time...

That's about it! Just working on that, scrambling for auditions, and doing some studying on the side. I just invested in Henry IV Parts I and II (ahhhh, light bedtime reading). I've got The Complete Works of Shakespeare, but the edition isn't as complete as I'd like - namely, it's missing all the historical background and the translations.

Oh! And I've got to quickly blog about a staged reading I went to see a couple of weeks ago. It was called "Based On A Totally True Story", about a writer and his relationship with his boyfriend, his father, and his publicist, and the story follows his life as he tries to succeed as a writer. The play was very well-written and had a wonderful cast of actors to bring it to life. I have the playbill around here somewhere; once I find it, I'll post a little bit more about who the actors and playwright were.

11 March 11 2005

BLUR OF A GIRL...

Garsh. It's been over a month (A MONTH!) since I've posted. Apologies all around, next one's on me. After a highly frustrating two months of searching, I've finally got some work lined up again. And wow. As I'm posting, I realize how badly I need to get moving on redesigning my website...this just isn't working for me anymore! Project #1: The Vagina Monologues. I know, I know. You're thinking "Ah...wha...?!?! AGAIN?!" But hear me out! _gaia studio is once again working to help promote awareness and help charities with another production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, and most of the 2004 cast is reuniting to reprise our roles. This will also be the last time that this cast will work together on this project. So yes, I will be doing "My Angry Vagina" and "Memory of Her Face" again at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ. "My Angry Vagina" will be taking a slightly different direction from last year's performance. Have no fear, it will still be plenty angry, but with a fresh twist. Once we settle the costs to put on this production, all remaining proceeds will go to WomenRising and Women of Iraq. Here's all the info regarding the show:

Sunday, March 20, 2005
Doors open at 6pm (cover band), curtain at 7pm
Tickets are $30

Reservations are highly recommended as we are limiting the audience to 60 seats and approximately 20-30 standing room. We oversold last year to an almost ridiculous amount, so we are scaling back considerably this time around. Last year, we raised $5000 for the shelter and the charity; we won't raise as much this year, but the audience will be a far cry more comfortable in the space. Contact _gaia studio at tickets@gaiastudio.org for reservations.

Location: Maxwell's (Hoboken, NJ)

We will be having a preview night on Thursday, March 17, 2005. Show is at 8pm, with a suggested admission price of $20, but feel free to donate however much you are comfortable with. There will be no cover band that night. Email me with any questions!

Project #2: Carnegie Hall. All I know for the moment is that the performance will be Tuesday, May 31st. More details to come!

Project #3: Haven By The Sea. This is my latest project. I will be understudying the lead role in Haven By The Sea as well as assistant directing. Details are still being ironed out, but after speaking with the director this morning, it's my understanding that the performances will be an equal split between me and the other girl. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. I'm meeting with the director on Monday for several hours to go over the script, get caught up with the role as much as possible, and go over my duties as AD. The role was recast over midway through the rehearsal process, and we (the other girl and I) will only have precious scant weeks to get the role to performance level (the show runs March 28- April 10). I am thriiiiiilled beyond all coherent description, and am dangerously on the verge of bursting.

OTHER NEWS...

I just recently found out that a director that I had worked with several years ago has passed away. What a sobering reality check. He directed me in an amazing production of Pippin in New Jersey, and it was one of the pivotal shows for me and my young career. It was the first time I realized how integral an ensemble is to a production because he treated us all with such respect. That show was my first major dancing role, and it really was one of the reasons I've jumped back into dancing. Beyond his ability to share his goth vision of the show, beyond his ability to make it real and excite us all...he was a genuinely kind and generous man. I worked on this show with him when I had been in the NY/NJ area for less than a year. I didn't know very many people yet, and I couldn't get home for Thanksgiving. He opened up his house to everyone so that no one would be without a place to be for the holidays. I always remembered that, and I hope he knew how grateful I was. I'm sorry to say that I didn't keep in touch with him after he moved away, but I always remembered him as one of the directors that made an impact on me and who showed me what a joy theatre could be. It still hasn't fully sunken in that he's gone.

1 February 2005

HE DOESN'T MAKE ME CRY...

Despite being on life support and all efforts at resuscitation...my car might be drawing its last dregs of life. I drove into NYC, up in Washington Heights, and my car began to overheat. I made it there, but wasn't so lucky as to make it back to NJ unscathed. So now, for the time being, I'll be auditioning solely in NYC or anywhere in NJ where mass transit is available until I can resolve this.

Auditions are slowly starting to pick up, to which I will simply say "thank goodness." With any luck, I'll be able to tell you all about my next show the next time I post.

I got word from a friend of mine who just got hired on a tour. I'm thrilled for him! This job came unexpectedly for him, so I'm just waiting to hear from him again to get all the details.

Choir rehearsals begin again on February 10th, and we should be getting more details on our Carnegie Hall performance. I can't wait! Check back here again towards the end of February, and I should have more information for you.

The fund raising event at TSI is still on, but the date has been changed. We are still in the planning phase and will be finalizing more of the plans over the next week. The event is set for Monday, February 21st at the Theatre-Studio Inc; check back here again often over the next week or two for all the details. This event is to help the Studio meet some outstanding financial payments, and to help them implement some promising expansion and growth of the theatre. If you'd like to make a donation or attend the event, please contact me or the theatre.

12 January 2005

ARMS OF JELLY

TDE had another productive shoot in Ridgefield, CT on Sunday, January 9th. We had loads of extras there for this scene, and they were all troopers. I was boom operator that night, and I hope (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease) that there are no major glitches with sound. Check out their site - our director has already started putting up new photos.

And while I do go to the gym and work with weights whenever I have the time (hahahahaha), my arms still felt a little squiggly a couple of days after the shoot.

Thankfully, auditions are starting to pick up again. I've already resolved for the New Year to set aside even more funds than originally planned, in order to get more headshots taken and find a good voice teacher.

Spanglish is a fine movie. I never thought I'd say that about an Adam Sandler film, but there it is, folks. Other movies that I've seen of late: Leminy Snickets, The Sting (an old favorite), Galaxy Quest, Star Wars: The Attack of the Clones (aaaaaaaaaagh) and Punch Drunk Love (again, my bias against Adam Sandler is slowly being erased as I watch more of his work).

TSI will be holding a fundraiser on Monday, February 14th to help them raise money for the theatre. If anyone is interested in attending, please contact me or the theatre directly. I will be helping them as much as I'm able to in between the constant running from place to place that I do. I'll continue to update my site with information once more is disseminated to the volunteers.

2005 has started out by leaving me a little bemused, but in general, guess I can't really complain. It's been treating me alright. Here's to a prosperous year, one and all.