Alright. I've neglected this blog long enough.
This week, as mentioned in earlier blog, was the carousel of directors and playwrights. We were put into three groups and worked a day and a half with each director on scenes from each of the playwrights, as well as sitting down with the playwrights themselves to get to know them and ask as many questions as we'd like. Intimidating sometimes, lovely all the time.
I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about some members of my cohort. I've been avoiding giving too many details about them because I want to keep this professional and respectful...and I know they read this blog. :) But it's the week of thanksgiving and I'm thankful for these people. And the truth is, I can't really avoid it. They have become too much apart of my life and I have grown to love them very much. It's so rare to have so many people together who truly have the same goal: to make GOOD work. So every so often I think I'll describe a few so that you can really appreciate who I get to be around and feed off of (meant in a non scary uncannibalistic way).
Let's start with the five people that were placed in my group this week.
AK- If you met her, you'd think she was from another world. Like a wood nymph. Ok, yes her scottish brogue and incredibly long curly brown hair may have tipped you off. Or perhaps her ecclectic and vintage collection of dresses and jewelry. I'm telling you, this "look" would never work for anyone but AK. But it isn't any of this. It's not even the fact that she has a degree in Medieval sex (the subject. not the doing). But it's in the twinkle in her green eyes. AK is beautifully generous in both her acting and her affection towards friends. Birthdays and holidays are huge with her. Hugs are, too. And though she may see herself as awkward, I think she's lovely and charming. And scrappy. Underneath all that kindness there's a hint of steel. The kind where she wouldn't bother with a slap or a claw, she'd just whoop your ass properly. She's got the worst circulation I've ever seen and could get cold in a hot house. She has a memory like a steel trap. And I feel good just being around her. She's reliable and quirky. And she loves tuna and banana pizza. ...yeah, I forgive her for that one.
SG- This man is HYSTERICAL. He could give you any information about comic books or dungeons and dragons. He's quick in the mind and just plain adorable. From the first week or so I felt like I knew him before. We never discussed being friends, we just were. He has an awesome wife and two of the cutest little boys ever. The youngest has the best little belly and the eldest has those eyes that if he asked me if he could stay up for five more minutes, I'd always say yes. Good thing I'm not in charge. SG is a wonderful daddy and a truly fun actor. He's playful and has a very good sense of comedic timing. Think three stooges or Laurel and Hardy. He and another girl in our group (AL) are like this dynamic duo that can get all of us busting out at the seams. I always feel supported by SG and feel like if I fell on my face he'd laugh while helping me up, but more importantly he'd make me laugh about it, too. That's what I need, someone to help me laugh at myself and the crap that life chucks at me. He's got a gift for that.
SM- If the toothfairy really did exist, I feel like she'd be like SM. This girl, also scottish, is the kind of person that you'd believe floated in a bubble for fun. She's light as air and...well...silly. In the best sense of the word. If I'm around SM, I verbally vomit anything I'm thinking to her. That's not something I really do. Ever. At least not without effort. But SM will plop herself down next to me, sling her arm around my shoulders, blow her blond fringe from her eyes, and in her soft raspy voice she'll start chattering away. And before I know it, my mood is lighter, I'm giggling, and have lost track of whatever was bothering me. SM is the forgetful sort. And she knows it. Sometimes she'll concentrate so hard on remembering something and when it is a success she'll do a victory fist pump of joy, "I remembered to text them!" You'd think she'd won gold at the olympics. It makes me so happy to be around her. You just feel five years younger. And as an actor, I love watching the wheels turn in her head. And she constantly surprises me with what she comes up with. She's always up for trying anything and is truly here just to become better and to live her dream. It's pure. And it's infectious. It's wonderful.
JS- I've written a bit about him before. He was also my yasha from the tennis ball blog. But this was the first week I really got to work closely with him. The only one of us actually from Glasgow, JS has the best accent I've ever heard. And what's more, he's got the best laugh. He's the type of actor that you trust immediately. And that is SO rare. He's not afraid to get it "wrong" because I think (I hope) he realizes that there is no wrong. Only better. When acting with him, I can count on him to give as good as he gets. Because he's one of the most generous actors I've ever worked with. He keeps a sense of humor, listens, can focus when needed, gives feed back and ideas, and never works in the same way twice. He's one of the few people that make me nervous because I know he's going to challenge me to be better. As a person, he's got a good soul. A dirty mind. And little boy deviousness that reminds me of my charismatic trouble maker cousin, Justin, who could get you to do the craziest shit just by using his brown eyes and a wicked grin. JS is someone you people out there will want to work with. I hope you get the chance.
and finally MAR. This is the guy you go to coffee with when you need someone to understand you. This guy's been through hell and back but still knows how to give. He has an intensity in his acting that is piercing. And he has will that is like a brick wall. MAR is soft hearted and thin skinned, but not push over. You will always know what he is thinking by looking at his face. Something we both have in common. He has an addiction to diet coke and technology. And it's beautiful watching him figure himself out. I can count on MAR to tell his truth. Whether I agree or not, I know that that is what he feels. And I love that. I never have to worry about walking on egg shells around him because I know that if there's a problem, he'll tell me. It's one thing I miss about NY. That mind set of being allowed to be who I am without feeling the need to apologize. I don't ever feel that around MAR. We are who we are. And we like each other for it. He's a gentleman, he's a thinker, and he's a very good friend.
So now you've met a few. Stay tuned for more of them. I'm sure they'll make an appearance.
As for the rest of this past week...I've hit some highs and lows. One of the pieces we rehearsed (One Night in Iran) had me trying to seduce a guy while crawling like a cat across a table that was meant to represent a bed. Despite the shakiness and squeaking of the table, we pulled it off. But it was the one play that made me uncomfortable. Once again hitting insecurities that I just dont want to deal with. ...of course we find out today that we've switched up the groups and will be concentrating the whole of next week on a single play for our presentation on next friday. guess which play i got? ....looks like I'll be reprising my table cat crawl for the head of our dept, the playwrights, the people from Playwrights Studio, and all of my cohort. Awesome. I am very pleased with the director I got though. If anyone can make me sexy, it's this guy. He's a directing genius.
Side note: It's been stormy the past few days but today it was Sunshine and rain at the same time. My favorite. :) The rainbows were an excellent touch to my walk home.
On Wednesday we also had our Renaissance auditions. In the spring we will have two shows that go up in repertory "Measure for Measure" and "the Duchess of Malfi". I believe we'll only be cast in one. My audition went as well as I could have hoped. I tried a new piece (for those of you shakespeare savvy lot, it was Lady Percy from Henry IV part 2). I'm not sure how much the panel was really paying attention seeing as how they were writing in their notebooks most of the time. But all I wanted was to have a good audition and interview and I did. Interviews are hit and miss with me. I never used to have any anxiety with them but ever since I did the Miss WA IOJD pageant in 2001, I've always been a bit hesitant. Never will I forget that interview...
Interviewer: So, Miss Stacy, what's your favorite color and why?
Stacy: Purple. um...uh...because...because...I like plums. Plums are purple. yeah.
oof. ...well it was a stupid question anyway. The least they could have done was give me a question that I could have answer "world peace" to. Ah well. I fooled those suckers, didn't I? Ended up being Miss Congeniality instead. ...it's ok. You can laugh. My whole family did, too. :)
But back to the audition. It was good. In the end though, and I'm glad I finally figured this out, it's not something I have any control over. I pray every time before I go into an audition that I will be able to walk back out of that room knowing I did my very best. And it's enough. But whether I get a part (or THE part) is out of my hands. They may want a 5'8" blond haired skinny Brit for the lead. I'll never be that. But I can control what I do inside that room. It just sucks if you ever get your heart set on a particular role or show. I've been very careful not to do that here. But there's still that bit of me that hopes he's looking for a 5'2" American brunette with curves instead. Won't find out for a couple of weeks. Will keep you posted.
Other than that, it's been just a blur of plays, scenes, and directors. Learning how each work and whether we can in fact work with them. We are all exhausted still but I still have never been happier. I was laying on the floor during a rehearsal today, watching some of my favorite people work a scene, and thinking...there's no where else I'd rather be.
Tonight was filled with long and multiple trips to grocery stores trying to get ingredients to make pumpkin bars for our huge thanksgiving tomorrow. We had class on our actual thanksgiving.
The search was a relative success. p.s. icing sugar=powdered/confectioners sugar. bicarbonate soda= baking soda. they use grams here instead of oz. and cream cheese is called soft cheese. yeah. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Luckily I had LoLo to keep things funny and musical. We finished the night in the communal kitchen; her making a huge vat of mac n' cheese, and me with fairly decent pumpkin bars. Though I wish my mom were here to make them properly. No one does it like momma.
Alright. Three weeks till end of term. And savoring every moment.
Thinking of you x
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