Phaedre at Nearly Naked Theatre closes this weekend. Only two more shows. It has been such a great experience. To work with a director/writer on the world permiere debute of his script, something he is so passionate about and has worked so hard on has been a priveledge. It's been exciting to watch the story grow and flesh out on stage.
The cast and crew has been wonderful. So much fun, so many laughs backstage and on the town. I'm really going to miss seeing them every week. Theatre is a strange thing. It's like a microcosim of life. We create this world, develope it, live in it, then put it to rest, all in a matter of months. We experience and entire life cycle and then line up to do it all over again. I think the Hindus were right about reincarnation except it's all happening right now in this lifetime. And I like it.
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tech Week!
Dig it.
It's tech week and we're workin' this show every night this week for our opening night this Friday. Here's a link to the Facebook event with all the info. You can also rock over to the Nearly Naked website for ticket info. It's going to be one hell of an unfamily friendly show and worth every damn penny. Sweet nudity from both sexes. AND my melodious voice and visage. It's like a gold mine.
Ben as Eros and Missy as Aphrodite
It's tech week and we're workin' this show every night this week for our opening night this Friday. Here's a link to the Facebook event with all the info. You can also rock over to the Nearly Naked website for ticket info. It's going to be one hell of an unfamily friendly show and worth every damn penny. Sweet nudity from both sexes. AND my melodious voice and visage. It's like a gold mine.
Ben as Eros and Missy as Aphrodite
Friday, January 22, 2010
CAST, Bitches!!
That is CORRECT!
I have been cast in Phaedre with Nearly Naked Theatre! MotherFUCK YEAH! I worked long and hard on this mo and I have fuckin' jazzed to be in it!
Nike, Greek Goddess of Victory, and my namesake.
The initial audition went well and the director called me the night before callbacks to direct me over the phone on how to read the monologue I had done at auditions. Callbacks lasted three hours and I read at least five times. I knew it was down to me for either the part of Ismene/Aphrodite, the princess's best friend, and the goddess of love (who appears nude), and the part of Panope, the narrator. I was bestowed the gift of Panope and I am thrilled.
I love being a story teller and I really feel like I convey the imagery of Greece and how magnificent the characters are. I also feel like I'm in comand of the show as I get to open it, show up here and there throughout it, and probably close it, as narrators are want to do. I'll see the script on Sunday when rehearsals start.
And, in a first for me, I already have an audition date set up for 12th Night of The Living Dead with Stray Cat. It's going to be a lot of work to be actively working on a current production while working on a Shakespearean monologue for another. I'm glad I am unemployed at the moment so I can have the time to devote to this: the things that are actually important to me. There are only three chicks in that play and I hope I kick enough ass to get one of the parts.
Always working. That's where I would like to be.
I have been cast in Phaedre with Nearly Naked Theatre! MotherFUCK YEAH! I worked long and hard on this mo and I have fuckin' jazzed to be in it!
Nike, Greek Goddess of Victory, and my namesake.
The initial audition went well and the director called me the night before callbacks to direct me over the phone on how to read the monologue I had done at auditions. Callbacks lasted three hours and I read at least five times. I knew it was down to me for either the part of Ismene/Aphrodite, the princess's best friend, and the goddess of love (who appears nude), and the part of Panope, the narrator. I was bestowed the gift of Panope and I am thrilled.
I love being a story teller and I really feel like I convey the imagery of Greece and how magnificent the characters are. I also feel like I'm in comand of the show as I get to open it, show up here and there throughout it, and probably close it, as narrators are want to do. I'll see the script on Sunday when rehearsals start.
And, in a first for me, I already have an audition date set up for 12th Night of The Living Dead with Stray Cat. It's going to be a lot of work to be actively working on a current production while working on a Shakespearean monologue for another. I'm glad I am unemployed at the moment so I can have the time to devote to this: the things that are actually important to me. There are only three chicks in that play and I hope I kick enough ass to get one of the parts.
Always working. That's where I would like to be.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Phaedre and Being Topless on Stage
That is correct. N2T announced auditions for Phaedre, director Damon Dearing's adaptation of the Greek play, and I will be going out for the part of Ismene who also doubles as Aphrodite. I auditioned for this play last year and would have gotten the part had I not been going to Vegas. Needless to say the lesson has been learned and I will have zero conflicts ever again.
Getting this part means being topless on stage. I am down with this because in this case it's art. It's not some gratuitous love scene or something sketchy: it's the Goddess of Love. I really like this part, as being the side kick is always more fun than the lead, and I would love the chance to be topless in a tasteful way on stage. I can also safely say that if I get cast the show will immediately sell out. I have a huge chest. You know you saw it coming.
I've got my sides and my audition date on the 10th all lined up. I am going to kill this part. I love the language and I am chomping at the bit to finally work with N2T. And to get to the gym to work out like a mofo.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Play About The Naked Guy
Got a callback for this badboy TONIGHT. Dig it. It's a really fun play with a bunch of fags and a gay porn star. My character is pregnant which is fun in and of itself. It's a Stray Cat production with the director from Nearly Naked at the helm. I'm going over my sides now.
I read my post there about being bummed after that last show I didn't get cast in. Man, I need to lighten up. It's not like I'm ever going to STOP auditioning. Plays and movies end and then it's on to the next one. It's not like interviewing for a job you hope to have for five years, unless it's a sitcom and even then shows get canceled. Yeah, it gets frustrating to get so close and then not get the part but man, that's how it goes. You're not going to get every part you go out for. I have done a far better job regulating my emotional investment in auditions and I have realized I need to scale it back even more. Good. I like this. This is where I need to be. I have friends in LA who go on a couple of auditions a DAY, you think they have time to get all up in arms about ONE gig? No! Suck it up, man!
Tough love on myself. That sound perverted. Nice.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Auditions galore!
So I went on two auditions simultaneously a few weeks ago, both for iTheater Collaborative in Phoenix. I was called back for Indivisible but not The Play About the Baby and ultimately not cast. Boo. But that's OK because the show goes up the same time that Nearly Naked Theater's Phaedra goes up and I'm gunning for a part in that.
I went on an audition for Unnecessary Farce with Desert Foothills Theater last night. That was a trek to get there. Way the hell up north, about an hour away. It's a great comedy and that's what I'm good at. I rocked the reading for both parts and the director called me this afternoon to tell me she thought I was wonderful and ask me to callbacks tomorrow night. Sweet. I have a feeling I'll get cast because I nailed it and because it's so damn far away. It's how I roll.
Then everyone can come and see me and laugh and I can hopefully get cast in some more shows in this damn town. More comedies, please!
I went on an audition for Unnecessary Farce with Desert Foothills Theater last night. That was a trek to get there. Way the hell up north, about an hour away. It's a great comedy and that's what I'm good at. I rocked the reading for both parts and the director called me this afternoon to tell me she thought I was wonderful and ask me to callbacks tomorrow night. Sweet. I have a feeling I'll get cast because I nailed it and because it's so damn far away. It's how I roll.
Then everyone can come and see me and laugh and I can hopefully get cast in some more shows in this damn town. More comedies, please!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sylvia
Tempe Little Theatre is holding auditions tomorrow night for Sylvia by A.R. Gurney. It goes like this:
"Middle age Greg finds precious Sylvia (a dog, played by a human) in the park and immediately takes a liking to her. He brings her back to the empty nest he shares with Kate.
When Kate gets home, she reacts very negatively to Sylvia and wants her gone. They eventually decide that Sylvia will stay for a few days before they decide whether she can stay longer.
Over the next few days, Greg spends more and more time with Sylvia, and less time at his job. Already dissatisfied with his job, he now has another reason to avoid work.
Tension increases between Greg and Kate, who still does not like Sylvia at all. Eventually, Greg becomes completely obsessed with Sylvia, and Kate fears their marriage is falling apart. Greg finally realizes what is happening, and decides to give Sylvia to another family.
At the last minute, Kate has a change of heart and decides that Sylvia can stay with them permanently. Greg and Kate resolve their differences, Greg finds a job he likes better, and they live happily ever after."
I can dig this. This is my kind of play: comedy. I need to make a trip to the Scottsdale Library and check out their copy, but I feel I could make a mighty fine bitch. =)
"Middle age Greg finds precious Sylvia (a dog, played by a human) in the park and immediately takes a liking to her. He brings her back to the empty nest he shares with Kate.
When Kate gets home, she reacts very negatively to Sylvia and wants her gone. They eventually decide that Sylvia will stay for a few days before they decide whether she can stay longer.
Over the next few days, Greg spends more and more time with Sylvia, and less time at his job. Already dissatisfied with his job, he now has another reason to avoid work.
Tension increases between Greg and Kate, who still does not like Sylvia at all. Eventually, Greg becomes completely obsessed with Sylvia, and Kate fears their marriage is falling apart. Greg finally realizes what is happening, and decides to give Sylvia to another family.
At the last minute, Kate has a change of heart and decides that Sylvia can stay with them permanently. Greg and Kate resolve their differences, Greg finds a job he likes better, and they live happily ever after."
I can dig this. This is my kind of play: comedy. I need to make a trip to the Scottsdale Library and check out their copy, but I feel I could make a mighty fine bitch. =)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
In Stray Cat Theater’s Blackbird, David Vining Inspires Sympathy
Phoenix New Times review.
"David Vining is many things: theater director, dialect coach, university professor. In Stray Cat Theater's new production of Blackbird, Vining reminds us that he's also a fine actor. His rather estimable job in this one-act...is to create sympathy for a 60-ish man who, some years earlier, had an affair with a minor. Harrower has fashioned a long, curvy conversation that begins as an indictment and wends its way through every human emotion, winding up finally as a peculiar (and rather stunning) reminiscence between two injured people. In his presentation of a sad sack Everyman, Vining does the unthinkable: He allows us to sympathize with — but never feel sorry for — a fellow who made a single terrible mistake. It's a difficult distinction to bring to the stage, yet Vining...does so with subtle turns of phrase and body language as he swings between cowering passivity and towering rage."
- Robrt L Pela, Phoenix New Times
"David Vining is many things: theater director, dialect coach, university professor. In Stray Cat Theater's new production of Blackbird, Vining reminds us that he's also a fine actor. His rather estimable job in this one-act...is to create sympathy for a 60-ish man who, some years earlier, had an affair with a minor. Harrower has fashioned a long, curvy conversation that begins as an indictment and wends its way through every human emotion, winding up finally as a peculiar (and rather stunning) reminiscence between two injured people. In his presentation of a sad sack Everyman, Vining does the unthinkable: He allows us to sympathize with — but never feel sorry for — a fellow who made a single terrible mistake. It's a difficult distinction to bring to the stage, yet Vining...does so with subtle turns of phrase and body language as he swings between cowering passivity and towering rage."
- Robrt L Pela, Phoenix New Times
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Review: 'Blackbird' doesn't flinch
Review: 'Blackbird' doesn't flinch
Shared via AddThis
Thanks to all who came out last weekend and helped make BLACKBIRD our highest attended opening weekend EVER. The first reviews are in and critics are purring...
Only two weekends left so make sure you catch the "bird" before it flies away for good. Don't let this be the one that got away!
Remember, Thursday is $10 student night.
Shared via AddThis
Thanks to all who came out last weekend and helped make BLACKBIRD our highest attended opening weekend EVER. The first reviews are in and critics are purring...
Only two weekends left so make sure you catch the "bird" before it flies away for good. Don't let this be the one that got away!
Remember, Thursday is $10 student night.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The First Review Is In!
5 stars out of 5 from Chris Curcio, KBAQ radio!
SUPERLATIVE “BLACKBIRD” PRODUCTION OPENS STRAY CAT SEASON
”BLACKBIRD”
Stray Cat Theatre, Tempe Performing Arts Center
Tempe, AZ
Leave it to our smaller theaters to bring interesting plays to town when the major companies ignore these works. Stray Cat Theatre opens its season with the local premiere of an acclaimed English play, “Blackbird,” by David Harrower. The production is a winner although it won’t appeal to all theatergoers due to the play’s controversial theme.
“Blackbird” is based on a real situation. Ray seduced Una, a 12-year-old girl, and was imprisoned. After his jail time, Ray begins to right his life. Many years later, Una, now a troubled adult, shows up unannounced at Ray’s work to confront him about their past.
At first, your hate is directed at Ray but as the 80-minute, one-act play evolves, the fast moving and revelatory script shifts and changes as your disgust moves back and forth between the pair. At the end, the playwright never answers for you who are at fault; that’s your decision. Was it Ray, the then middle-aged guy enraptured with Una, or was it the flirty and sexually mature girl who longed for a trusting relationship? Una hoped the intimacy would provide the love and trust she never got from her parents.
It’s a fascinating dialogue and Harrower is adept at shifting the audience hatred as mistrust between Ray and Una provides insightful details about the relationship. Harrower doesn’t answer who suffered most although there is no excuse for a man sexually seducing a girl. Una’s attack on Ray is traumatic, though, and opens the question of her stability both before and after the liaison.
Ron May’s superlative production provides a better interpretation than a previous production I saw. With his designer, he’s crafted a cramped, confining, and inhospitable break room that is ideal for the confrontation. His cast is wonderful in the two roles.
His cast both approaches their roles with a natural hesitancy since the pair would be tentative in such an awkward confrontation. There’s much realistic chatter but also genuine emotional outbursts at key moments during the strained meeting. David Vining’s Ray is just right. Initially he’s ashamed and remorseful but as Una attacks, he grows more confrontational and physical in his reaction to her. Nina Miller’s Una is no less flawless. At first, she’s hesitant, slow to place the burden on Ray, but ultimately she releases a stream of hatred and fears caused by Ray’s action. As the issues haunt her, her life is influenced. Miller evolves from a shy flower to a dominant champion of placing the blame as she sees it.
“Blackbird” is an uncomfortable experience but the story is fascinating and timely. “Blackbird” continues through October 10. For tickets, call the Stray Cat Theatre box office at 480-820-8022 or order online at www.straycattheatre.org.
Grade: A
SUPERLATIVE “BLACKBIRD” PRODUCTION OPENS STRAY CAT SEASON
”BLACKBIRD”
Stray Cat Theatre, Tempe Performing Arts Center
Tempe, AZ
Leave it to our smaller theaters to bring interesting plays to town when the major companies ignore these works. Stray Cat Theatre opens its season with the local premiere of an acclaimed English play, “Blackbird,” by David Harrower. The production is a winner although it won’t appeal to all theatergoers due to the play’s controversial theme.
“Blackbird” is based on a real situation. Ray seduced Una, a 12-year-old girl, and was imprisoned. After his jail time, Ray begins to right his life. Many years later, Una, now a troubled adult, shows up unannounced at Ray’s work to confront him about their past.
At first, your hate is directed at Ray but as the 80-minute, one-act play evolves, the fast moving and revelatory script shifts and changes as your disgust moves back and forth between the pair. At the end, the playwright never answers for you who are at fault; that’s your decision. Was it Ray, the then middle-aged guy enraptured with Una, or was it the flirty and sexually mature girl who longed for a trusting relationship? Una hoped the intimacy would provide the love and trust she never got from her parents.
It’s a fascinating dialogue and Harrower is adept at shifting the audience hatred as mistrust between Ray and Una provides insightful details about the relationship. Harrower doesn’t answer who suffered most although there is no excuse for a man sexually seducing a girl. Una’s attack on Ray is traumatic, though, and opens the question of her stability both before and after the liaison.
Ron May’s superlative production provides a better interpretation than a previous production I saw. With his designer, he’s crafted a cramped, confining, and inhospitable break room that is ideal for the confrontation. His cast is wonderful in the two roles.
His cast both approaches their roles with a natural hesitancy since the pair would be tentative in such an awkward confrontation. There’s much realistic chatter but also genuine emotional outbursts at key moments during the strained meeting. David Vining’s Ray is just right. Initially he’s ashamed and remorseful but as Una attacks, he grows more confrontational and physical in his reaction to her. Nina Miller’s Una is no less flawless. At first, she’s hesitant, slow to place the burden on Ray, but ultimately she releases a stream of hatred and fears caused by Ray’s action. As the issues haunt her, her life is influenced. Miller evolves from a shy flower to a dominant champion of placing the blame as she sees it.
“Blackbird” is an uncomfortable experience but the story is fascinating and timely. “Blackbird” continues through October 10. For tickets, call the Stray Cat Theatre box office at 480-820-8022 or order online at www.straycattheatre.org.
Grade: A
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Stray Cat Theatre presents: Blackbird
I have a wee part in a fantastic play opening on 9/25!
BLACKBIRD by David Harrower
Directed by Ron May
Presented by Stray Cat Theatre
He went to jail. She went home.
One of the more talked-about and controversial plays of the past decade, David Harrower's Blackbird has been featured on many American and London critics' top 10 lists and received the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Play. Based on a true story, this powerful, volatile piece begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray, forcing Ray to come to terms with the effects of their past relationship. Una pulls him into a brutal encounter that is gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable. How better to kick off a season Stray Cat style than with a pull-no-punches evening of theatre you aren't soon to forget? **Please Note -- This production contains strong adult content.
Performances:
September 25 - October 10
Thu-Fri-Sat @ 8PM Sun @ 2PM
Regular Price:
$20/Adults
$15/Students
$15/Seniors
$15/Military
Thursdays:
Always $10 Student Night
(valid ID Required)
Sundays:
$12 for Everyone
132 E. 6th Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85281
BONUS!
Catch Blackbird at a discount: 2-4-1 tickets to any performance Opening Weekend ONLY.
Use online Coupon Code BBOP241.
Come for a night of intense theatre, stay for my melodious voice and traffic-stopping silhouette. :D
BLACKBIRD by David Harrower
Directed by Ron May
Presented by Stray Cat Theatre
He went to jail. She went home.
One of the more talked-about and controversial plays of the past decade, David Harrower's Blackbird has been featured on many American and London critics' top 10 lists and received the 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Play. Based on a true story, this powerful, volatile piece begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray, forcing Ray to come to terms with the effects of their past relationship. Una pulls him into a brutal encounter that is gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable. How better to kick off a season Stray Cat style than with a pull-no-punches evening of theatre you aren't soon to forget? **Please Note -- This production contains strong adult content.
Performances:
September 25 - October 10
Thu-Fri-Sat @ 8PM Sun @ 2PM
Regular Price:
$20/Adults
$15/Students
$15/Seniors
$15/Military
Thursdays:
Always $10 Student Night
(valid ID Required)
Sundays:
$12 for Everyone
132 E. 6th Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85281
BONUS!
Catch Blackbird at a discount: 2-4-1 tickets to any performance Opening Weekend ONLY.
Use online Coupon Code BBOP241.
Come for a night of intense theatre, stay for my melodious voice and traffic-stopping silhouette. :D
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Little Dog Laughed
I auditioned for this play Tuesday night, for Nearly Naked Theatre. It's written by Douglas Carter Beane, the cat who wrote To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and is quite the wicked comedy. It's about a Hollywood actor named Mitchell who is gay and his agent who is trying to keep him in the closet. Mitchell is nailing this gay prostitute who is also sleeping with a woman. Hilarity ensues!
This was one of the rare occasions where I didn't get a chance to read the play beforehand. The director handed me a monologue and scene for the girlfriend part and I scurried off to a corner to look them over. I preformed the monologue first and got some great laughs. The director then asked me to pair up with one of the guys for the two person scene. Not everyone made it this far after their first performance.
We read over the scene a few times and then we were up. Now, this audition was set up where we were all in the room together at the same time. I hate these kinds of auditions. Normally I don't want to watch anyone else do the scene I'm about to do. This time, though, it worked to my advantage. I watched two couples do this scene and they were both different. So I took some cues from both of them and then added my own spin. I garnered some major rager laughs and felt so at ease and natural up there. It was also helpful to have all those other actors in the room as an audience to play off of.
I felt on top of the world when I left that audition. I felt I really nailed it, I made them laugh, I felt good about the choices I made, and that I made my audition quite memorable. It also helped that I didn't have much emotion invested in it. I found out about the audition two days before and could only get a hold of a synopsis and the first two pages. If I don't get cast of course I'll be bummed but I am really proud of the performance I gave at the audition and that makes it all worth it.
The director is waiting until next week to cast this show as their current show, RENT, closes this weekend and he's concentrating on that. There may or may not be callbacks, he hasn't decided. I'm ready for anything!
This was one of the rare occasions where I didn't get a chance to read the play beforehand. The director handed me a monologue and scene for the girlfriend part and I scurried off to a corner to look them over. I preformed the monologue first and got some great laughs. The director then asked me to pair up with one of the guys for the two person scene. Not everyone made it this far after their first performance.
We read over the scene a few times and then we were up. Now, this audition was set up where we were all in the room together at the same time. I hate these kinds of auditions. Normally I don't want to watch anyone else do the scene I'm about to do. This time, though, it worked to my advantage. I watched two couples do this scene and they were both different. So I took some cues from both of them and then added my own spin. I garnered some major rager laughs and felt so at ease and natural up there. It was also helpful to have all those other actors in the room as an audience to play off of.
I felt on top of the world when I left that audition. I felt I really nailed it, I made them laugh, I felt good about the choices I made, and that I made my audition quite memorable. It also helped that I didn't have much emotion invested in it. I found out about the audition two days before and could only get a hold of a synopsis and the first two pages. If I don't get cast of course I'll be bummed but I am really proud of the performance I gave at the audition and that makes it all worth it.
The director is waiting until next week to cast this show as their current show, RENT, closes this weekend and he's concentrating on that. There may or may not be callbacks, he hasn't decided. I'm ready for anything!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Blackbird
Went on an audition this morning for one of my favorite theatre groups, Stray Cat Theatre.
A great dramatic play called Blackbird. I bought the play a few weeks ago so I'd have time to get to the bottom of it. It's a heavy number with only two characters and it's written in a very specific and dynamic meter.
Drama isn't my strong suit. I'm a comedienne. Doesn't mean I can't do drama it's just not my preference and not what I do best. Not yet, anyway. I would actually really like to get this part as it would force me to branch out into unknown territory and grow. It also scares the crap out of me and makes me uncomfortable. Acting is one of the only mediums where you can be wholly uncomfortable in a safe and comfortable setting.
It never ceases to amaze me how we put in all this time and effort studying a play, a part, a character, all for three minutes in front of the director. Sometimes that's all there is. You know this play, this story, these relationships inside and out and you don't get the part. It's such a mad crazy thing. Only for love do we do these things.
Callback? We'll see. Another audition down, another one on the horizon.
A great dramatic play called Blackbird. I bought the play a few weeks ago so I'd have time to get to the bottom of it. It's a heavy number with only two characters and it's written in a very specific and dynamic meter.
Drama isn't my strong suit. I'm a comedienne. Doesn't mean I can't do drama it's just not my preference and not what I do best. Not yet, anyway. I would actually really like to get this part as it would force me to branch out into unknown territory and grow. It also scares the crap out of me and makes me uncomfortable. Acting is one of the only mediums where you can be wholly uncomfortable in a safe and comfortable setting.
It never ceases to amaze me how we put in all this time and effort studying a play, a part, a character, all for three minutes in front of the director. Sometimes that's all there is. You know this play, this story, these relationships inside and out and you don't get the part. It's such a mad crazy thing. Only for love do we do these things.
Callback? We'll see. Another audition down, another one on the horizon.
Friday, May 1, 2009
It's all Greek to me!
From February 25, 2009
I had an audition last night and I kicked the fucking shit out of it! It was great. Everything just came together.
Damon, the director of Nearly Naked Theatre, is writing an adaptation of this play called Phaedra. He has two versions he's trying to meld together: one is written in antiquated english and the other is in modern english. (But not Modern English) We auditioned with the antiquated english script which is written a lot like Shakespeare. It's about a Greek queen named Phaedra who is in love with her husband Theseus's son Hippolytus. The son is in love with a Greek princess names Aricia, who has been imprisioned by Theseus, and is the rightful heir to the throne of Athens. Theseus has been missing for 6 months and is presumed dead. That means Aricia is now free. Aricia has a best friend named Ismene who is her link to the outside world and tells her of the king's death and also that Hippolytus is in love with her. Aricia doesn't believer he because the prince seems to be violently against women but he confesses his love to her in the next scene. Thinking her husband is dead, Phaedra tells her step-son she's got the hots for him and he gets freaked out by it. And on and on. It's good stuff.
He sent out the sides in an email yesterday and I printed them out & read them over. I also was lucky enough to find the Cliff's Notes on the play online so I studied those as well. Knowing what the play is about helps alot in deciphering the sides and giving a better audition.
When I got there of course everyone else there knew each other and were hugging and talking and it really made me hate theatre people. It's fucking annoying all the insider shit. Of course I'm on the outside of it, so it's annoying, but I hope I'm not that annoying to other people. It really does alienate people.
There were 7 women and 2 men at this audition. I think there were auditions on Sunday, one of the women there had read before, and was pretty good. It was funny to watch the other auditions. He sent the 3 of us younger women outside to read over a scene together and we took turns reading the parts of Aricia and Ismene. This one girl was just NOT good. Right after she read for him he told her she could leave. Not a good sign for her. You're out. She was bad. So was this other older woman. The girl I read my scene with was a very tall, very thin, very pale, very blonde woman. It worked out very well though, as she really liked the part of Aricia and I really liked the part of Ismene, so that's what we read. I had to explain what the play and the scene was about to her but I had my shit down. It all came together for me in explaining the scene to her and what the characters were doing...I got that Ismene was excited about the news of the death of the king and Aricia's pending freedom and the news that the prince loved her, and Aricia didn't believe any of it. I also have a knack for the language it was written in and being able to get the idea across so the audience would get it.
Damon really liked what I did and asked me if I would be comfortable being topless on stage. The best friend part doubles as Aphrodite and the goddess would be topless. I said sure. It's not vulgar or lewd, it's a Aphrodite the Goddess of Love. I'm all about it.
He had the both of us women read two different scene with Aricia and Hippolytus, had us all stand back to back to each other to check our heights, and then we were done. I don't feel the part of Aricia as much as the part of Ismene but I could do it given time and rehearsal. Either way, I hope I get one of the parts.
The cool thing about this production is it's a workshop production. Damon is writing the script so the purpose of this is to prepare it for full production in their next season which will start in the fall. This production will be lightly produced which means essentially less money spent. There will only be 6 shows, and there will be a Q&A with the audience before and after each show to find out what they feel worked and what didn't, so we as a group can improve the script. It would be a really fantastic project to get involved in. It's really creating theatre. And Nearly Naked Theatre is one of THE theatres in town to work with. It would be incredible exposure for me as an actor as everyone who's anyone comes to see NNT shows.
He's got more auditions on Thursday and then he's going to make a decision so I hope I get in!
I had an audition last night and I kicked the fucking shit out of it! It was great. Everything just came together.
Damon, the director of Nearly Naked Theatre, is writing an adaptation of this play called Phaedra. He has two versions he's trying to meld together: one is written in antiquated english and the other is in modern english. (But not Modern English) We auditioned with the antiquated english script which is written a lot like Shakespeare. It's about a Greek queen named Phaedra who is in love with her husband Theseus's son Hippolytus. The son is in love with a Greek princess names Aricia, who has been imprisioned by Theseus, and is the rightful heir to the throne of Athens. Theseus has been missing for 6 months and is presumed dead. That means Aricia is now free. Aricia has a best friend named Ismene who is her link to the outside world and tells her of the king's death and also that Hippolytus is in love with her. Aricia doesn't believer he because the prince seems to be violently against women but he confesses his love to her in the next scene. Thinking her husband is dead, Phaedra tells her step-son she's got the hots for him and he gets freaked out by it. And on and on. It's good stuff.
He sent out the sides in an email yesterday and I printed them out & read them over. I also was lucky enough to find the Cliff's Notes on the play online so I studied those as well. Knowing what the play is about helps alot in deciphering the sides and giving a better audition.
When I got there of course everyone else there knew each other and were hugging and talking and it really made me hate theatre people. It's fucking annoying all the insider shit. Of course I'm on the outside of it, so it's annoying, but I hope I'm not that annoying to other people. It really does alienate people.
There were 7 women and 2 men at this audition. I think there were auditions on Sunday, one of the women there had read before, and was pretty good. It was funny to watch the other auditions. He sent the 3 of us younger women outside to read over a scene together and we took turns reading the parts of Aricia and Ismene. This one girl was just NOT good. Right after she read for him he told her she could leave. Not a good sign for her. You're out. She was bad. So was this other older woman. The girl I read my scene with was a very tall, very thin, very pale, very blonde woman. It worked out very well though, as she really liked the part of Aricia and I really liked the part of Ismene, so that's what we read. I had to explain what the play and the scene was about to her but I had my shit down. It all came together for me in explaining the scene to her and what the characters were doing...I got that Ismene was excited about the news of the death of the king and Aricia's pending freedom and the news that the prince loved her, and Aricia didn't believe any of it. I also have a knack for the language it was written in and being able to get the idea across so the audience would get it.
Damon really liked what I did and asked me if I would be comfortable being topless on stage. The best friend part doubles as Aphrodite and the goddess would be topless. I said sure. It's not vulgar or lewd, it's a Aphrodite the Goddess of Love. I'm all about it.
He had the both of us women read two different scene with Aricia and Hippolytus, had us all stand back to back to each other to check our heights, and then we were done. I don't feel the part of Aricia as much as the part of Ismene but I could do it given time and rehearsal. Either way, I hope I get one of the parts.
The cool thing about this production is it's a workshop production. Damon is writing the script so the purpose of this is to prepare it for full production in their next season which will start in the fall. This production will be lightly produced which means essentially less money spent. There will only be 6 shows, and there will be a Q&A with the audience before and after each show to find out what they feel worked and what didn't, so we as a group can improve the script. It would be a really fantastic project to get involved in. It's really creating theatre. And Nearly Naked Theatre is one of THE theatres in town to work with. It would be incredible exposure for me as an actor as everyone who's anyone comes to see NNT shows.
He's got more auditions on Thursday and then he's going to make a decision so I hope I get in!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Venice with a Vengence
I spent Presidents Day weekend in a hotel room on the boardwalk in Venice Beach. I decided late that Friday afternoon that I needed to get the hell OUT and Venice has always been my kind of people. Beach + freaks + art + introspection + ferris wheels was just what I needed. The walls of my life were closing in on me and I ran before they could collapse.
I booked a room at The Cadillac Hotel where Charlie Chaplin once lived. I didn't realize it was on the boardwalk. I thought I'd be within walking distance but didn't know that walk was 20 feet. The lobby was a dusty 80s magazine cover with mosaic tiled creatures running across the floors and a glorified dumbwaiter for an elevator. My room was nondescript with two twin beds, a TV, and an unnecessarily large bathroom. The windows were screenless and had I reached my hand out one I could have touched the apartment complex view. The mirror above the sink was one foot by one foot and luckily right at my face level. I peered into the apartment complex windows wondering what it was like to call Venice home.
Saturday evening was spent in Hollywood with Caleb, partaking of some fab Italian food and wine and a strip mall theatre presentation of Romeo and Juliet, co-starring our friend Rick. They set the play in the south and the prologue was delivered by a bartender with a southern drawl. The bar and two black boxes were the only set in this tiny black box theatre. The southern location and accents really made me feel like I was there, that these really were two feuding families and a group of friends. The mother was cut out and the nurse was played by a black woman who spoke with a creole accent. Mercrutio, as always, stole the show. The Shakespearian words just poured right off his moonshined tongue, he was so at ease up there. Sadly, the leads were completely unbelievable. I didn't buy for a second that they were in love. Words came out of mouths, bodies were embraced, but the feelings, the passion, were locked somewhere far, far away, Perhaps in the nightclub downstairs. We drained the last of our convenience store bottle of wine and congratulated the cast on their performance as we headed off to more food and debauchery
Caleb and Rick and I spent the night hopefully lamenting the business of acting and commercials, agents, rent, improv, commitment, time, money, creativity, and making the waitress laugh. We ate fried plantains and cheese steak and beer. Where is it all going, what does it mean, how long are we going to do this, what's going to happen to us, will we ever get there and where is "there"? Where does it end? Does it? We snaked back through the streets of Santa Monica to Venice with a case of misery in a can and a wet behind the ears Green Day squeaking on the iPod.
Sunday morning was breakfast burritos on the beach and bus rides. The vendors and the sun and the tourists were out in full bloom. From stem to stern the boardwalk is sectioned off into numbered lots for vendors to stake out. There had to have been 7 different tarot readers and psychics, tumbling and fire breathing performance artists, the man with the upright piano, the hippie girl happily crocheting beanies for sale, the sand sculpturist carving an alligator in ridiculous detail, the would-be artists with their mixed media plywood paintings, the homeless burnouts with huge signs asking for weed, the glittering Day of the Dead skulls, the impromptu jam session musicians, and the professional artists with their credit card machines for easy access of purchase. Runners and rollerbladers, impossibly tiny dogs in sweaters, every fifth person you see carrying a massive camera with tripod looking for that perfect location, and not one sunglassless face.
I walked for miles and miles back and forth on that boardwalk. I had a peach chai latte at Sean's Cafe in Gingerbread Court, the former apartment complex rumored to have been owned by Charlie Chaplin, that now houses tiny shops overflowing with beautiful clothes. I took a nap in front of my open window on my feather pillow in the dancing ocean breeze. Back to Sean's Cafe for a cheeseburger and fries and a Diet Coke As Large As All Mankind. It's the only way I order them. I sat at a bistro table and eavesdropped on the staff and their friendships wondering what kind of people they meet every day. So many thoughts cartwheeling through my mind...about life and destiny, commitment and ambition, desire and passion, art and creativity, fate and blank notebooks. Possibilities. Choices. Acceptance. Limitations. Paths. Hope. Relinquishing. I see now how they came to be called The Doors on this beach. The perception blazed through that crack left by the setting sun.
Another trip up the dumbwaiter to my room to change and pack my purse for a trek. Trusty flip flops in place and iPod tuned up, I set off for that glittering wheel in the distance: the Santa Monica Pier. I don't know how far it was...at least a mile, maybe more. The air was warm, the path was lit and soon the wooden planks lifted me up off the beach. I had never been on the pier, sad to say. I didn't know it was a full blown carnival with games and rides and hot dogs. Buzzers and bells and kids and stuffed animals. Ice cream and souvenir stands, California name plates and your name on a grain of rice. Roger Clyne, you're always with me. I picked up an abalone shell and silver ring, and a funnel cake swimming in strawberries. One ticket for the ferris wheel where I shared a ride with a sweet 12 year old girl from East LA. High above the ocean and into the starless sky, over the screaming roller coaster and the glow of Santa Monica. With a deeply increasing ache in my ankles I headed back, past the swing sets full of laughing teenagers, along the rarely quiet and deserted pathways, to the fire escape on my second floor for late night phone calls.
Monday morning found me nearly crippled from the pain in my ankles and feet. I had to pass on the recommendation of a fabulous omelette house and opt for the crawling distance of the Fig Tree Cafe. Eggs over medium, homefries, sausage and fantastic spiced applesauce. I hobbled over to a patch of grass between the boardwalk and the beach and scribbled the midmorning away. By noon the shops started opening up. I choked back the pain and wandered up Gingerbread Court to the shop at the top that had a skirt I decided I had to have. Alas, they were closed. On the way back down, at the shop at the bottom was a top that went with the skirt perfectly. I went up and down that court about 5 times waiting and hoping that shop would open, with the other shop owners squinting at me with suspicious eyes. Just as I was about to retire the quest the shop owner decided it was a good day to make some money and I gladly handed over mine. The gauzy, lime green and pink flower confection was mine. One matching pink tank top later I was a complete outfit richer.
My tank sufficiently full of Venice mojo, it was time to mozy on up the coast back home. Out of the cramped hotel parking lot, slinking along the one way streets, gliding down the main drag to the queen of the highways, The PCH. Rolling along the ocean past the coveted neighborhoods, dream houses and landmarks. Surfers derobing roadside - a sweeter traffic hazard there never was. I pulled into Malibu Seafood round about sunset for some mahi mahi and a view I've come to the conclusion I can't live without. Home is where your heart is and mine is full of salt water and sand. I drank in that slow burn over the horizon as the highway veered away from the shore, and slowly sipped it on the winding road back home. Things are much brighter on this side of the door.
I booked a room at The Cadillac Hotel where Charlie Chaplin once lived. I didn't realize it was on the boardwalk. I thought I'd be within walking distance but didn't know that walk was 20 feet. The lobby was a dusty 80s magazine cover with mosaic tiled creatures running across the floors and a glorified dumbwaiter for an elevator. My room was nondescript with two twin beds, a TV, and an unnecessarily large bathroom. The windows were screenless and had I reached my hand out one I could have touched the apartment complex view. The mirror above the sink was one foot by one foot and luckily right at my face level. I peered into the apartment complex windows wondering what it was like to call Venice home.
Saturday evening was spent in Hollywood with Caleb, partaking of some fab Italian food and wine and a strip mall theatre presentation of Romeo and Juliet, co-starring our friend Rick. They set the play in the south and the prologue was delivered by a bartender with a southern drawl. The bar and two black boxes were the only set in this tiny black box theatre. The southern location and accents really made me feel like I was there, that these really were two feuding families and a group of friends. The mother was cut out and the nurse was played by a black woman who spoke with a creole accent. Mercrutio, as always, stole the show. The Shakespearian words just poured right off his moonshined tongue, he was so at ease up there. Sadly, the leads were completely unbelievable. I didn't buy for a second that they were in love. Words came out of mouths, bodies were embraced, but the feelings, the passion, were locked somewhere far, far away, Perhaps in the nightclub downstairs. We drained the last of our convenience store bottle of wine and congratulated the cast on their performance as we headed off to more food and debauchery
Caleb and Rick and I spent the night hopefully lamenting the business of acting and commercials, agents, rent, improv, commitment, time, money, creativity, and making the waitress laugh. We ate fried plantains and cheese steak and beer. Where is it all going, what does it mean, how long are we going to do this, what's going to happen to us, will we ever get there and where is "there"? Where does it end? Does it? We snaked back through the streets of Santa Monica to Venice with a case of misery in a can and a wet behind the ears Green Day squeaking on the iPod.
Sunday morning was breakfast burritos on the beach and bus rides. The vendors and the sun and the tourists were out in full bloom. From stem to stern the boardwalk is sectioned off into numbered lots for vendors to stake out. There had to have been 7 different tarot readers and psychics, tumbling and fire breathing performance artists, the man with the upright piano, the hippie girl happily crocheting beanies for sale, the sand sculpturist carving an alligator in ridiculous detail, the would-be artists with their mixed media plywood paintings, the homeless burnouts with huge signs asking for weed, the glittering Day of the Dead skulls, the impromptu jam session musicians, and the professional artists with their credit card machines for easy access of purchase. Runners and rollerbladers, impossibly tiny dogs in sweaters, every fifth person you see carrying a massive camera with tripod looking for that perfect location, and not one sunglassless face.
I walked for miles and miles back and forth on that boardwalk. I had a peach chai latte at Sean's Cafe in Gingerbread Court, the former apartment complex rumored to have been owned by Charlie Chaplin, that now houses tiny shops overflowing with beautiful clothes. I took a nap in front of my open window on my feather pillow in the dancing ocean breeze. Back to Sean's Cafe for a cheeseburger and fries and a Diet Coke As Large As All Mankind. It's the only way I order them. I sat at a bistro table and eavesdropped on the staff and their friendships wondering what kind of people they meet every day. So many thoughts cartwheeling through my mind...about life and destiny, commitment and ambition, desire and passion, art and creativity, fate and blank notebooks. Possibilities. Choices. Acceptance. Limitations. Paths. Hope. Relinquishing. I see now how they came to be called The Doors on this beach. The perception blazed through that crack left by the setting sun.
Another trip up the dumbwaiter to my room to change and pack my purse for a trek. Trusty flip flops in place and iPod tuned up, I set off for that glittering wheel in the distance: the Santa Monica Pier. I don't know how far it was...at least a mile, maybe more. The air was warm, the path was lit and soon the wooden planks lifted me up off the beach. I had never been on the pier, sad to say. I didn't know it was a full blown carnival with games and rides and hot dogs. Buzzers and bells and kids and stuffed animals. Ice cream and souvenir stands, California name plates and your name on a grain of rice. Roger Clyne, you're always with me. I picked up an abalone shell and silver ring, and a funnel cake swimming in strawberries. One ticket for the ferris wheel where I shared a ride with a sweet 12 year old girl from East LA. High above the ocean and into the starless sky, over the screaming roller coaster and the glow of Santa Monica. With a deeply increasing ache in my ankles I headed back, past the swing sets full of laughing teenagers, along the rarely quiet and deserted pathways, to the fire escape on my second floor for late night phone calls.
Monday morning found me nearly crippled from the pain in my ankles and feet. I had to pass on the recommendation of a fabulous omelette house and opt for the crawling distance of the Fig Tree Cafe. Eggs over medium, homefries, sausage and fantastic spiced applesauce. I hobbled over to a patch of grass between the boardwalk and the beach and scribbled the midmorning away. By noon the shops started opening up. I choked back the pain and wandered up Gingerbread Court to the shop at the top that had a skirt I decided I had to have. Alas, they were closed. On the way back down, at the shop at the bottom was a top that went with the skirt perfectly. I went up and down that court about 5 times waiting and hoping that shop would open, with the other shop owners squinting at me with suspicious eyes. Just as I was about to retire the quest the shop owner decided it was a good day to make some money and I gladly handed over mine. The gauzy, lime green and pink flower confection was mine. One matching pink tank top later I was a complete outfit richer.
My tank sufficiently full of Venice mojo, it was time to mozy on up the coast back home. Out of the cramped hotel parking lot, slinking along the one way streets, gliding down the main drag to the queen of the highways, The PCH. Rolling along the ocean past the coveted neighborhoods, dream houses and landmarks. Surfers derobing roadside - a sweeter traffic hazard there never was. I pulled into Malibu Seafood round about sunset for some mahi mahi and a view I've come to the conclusion I can't live without. Home is where your heart is and mine is full of salt water and sand. I drank in that slow burn over the horizon as the highway veered away from the shore, and slowly sipped it on the winding road back home. Things are much brighter on this side of the door.
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