It's 10:30 and I haven't heard from Dan (Fiddler director.) I know for sure that I'm not in Rothschilds. Several other very talented friends haven't been called yet either. When I was in Annie he was quite late in calling to offer me the part of Grace--I had given up hope. I'm pretty sure I didn't get in. Maybe he is calling people tomorrow too, I don't know. But I doubt it.
Hanging up now....
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
While Waiting
Well, auditions are over and I think they went pretty well. I ended up auditioning for The Rothschilds as well as Fiddler. Like 1776 (directed by the same person) there are only two women's roles. I read for both. When I read for the mother, (Gutele) who has to age throughout the course of the show, the director said it was easy to make someone look older but they needed someone who could act younger. I think I did that. They had us sing from the show and I slaughtered the first song (the younger woman's song.) I asked to sing a Gutele song and they had me do "One Room." It was so beautiful I fell in love with it on the spot. Now I want to play Gutele!
So here's my quandry: Jane (director of Rothschilds) asked us what we would do if cast in Fiddler. I wrote on my form that I would do chorus in Fiddler if I got chorus in both. If I got one of the women's parts in Rothschilds, I would take that UNLESS I got Fruma Sarah. Now I'm regretting that "unless." I've decided that given the choice between them, I'd rather do Gutele. A friend of mine and I went to lunch today and I found out she wanted Fruma Sarah too, and she actually did a part of the FS song. It would be nice if she got it and I got Gutele. But all of this is moot if I don't get that call!
I will write back later tonight either way. Hanging up now....
So here's my quandry: Jane (director of Rothschilds) asked us what we would do if cast in Fiddler. I wrote on my form that I would do chorus in Fiddler if I got chorus in both. If I got one of the women's parts in Rothschilds, I would take that UNLESS I got Fruma Sarah. Now I'm regretting that "unless." I've decided that given the choice between them, I'd rather do Gutele. A friend of mine and I went to lunch today and I found out she wanted Fruma Sarah too, and she actually did a part of the FS song. It would be nice if she got it and I got Gutele. But all of this is moot if I don't get that call!
I will write back later tonight either way. Hanging up now....
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Ah, romance....(or lack of)
So I haven't heard from my plenty of fish guy and I don't think I will. This has happened to me several times--we talk, go out, talk again, and then peter out. I'm tired of the whole online dating thing. But it's very hard to meet people here. The guy friends I do have are either with someone else or not interested in pursuing a relationship. Most of the guys my age are married. I have come across a fair number of divorced ones, like this guy, but their time is very taken up with their work and/or children.
Ran into an old flame last week. I broke up with him in 2005. There were many reasons--there was a lot of pressure on the relationship due to his not finding work. There were some things we were very compatible on, like our love of theater, our politics, and our sense of humor, and some things we didn't see eye to eye on at all, like our religious beliefs. There are several atheists in my life but he is the only one I would call an angry atheist. His father died when he was young and for a time the male role model in his life was a man who spewed religious bull while trying to get in his mother's pants. I tried to get him to see this man wasn't a Christian, but he would have none of it. So many times I fantasized about him walking into my church, because the message fit his life so well. He would benefit so much from having something to believe in.
Given this, it was good to see him. I always like seeing him--he has a unique view of the world and always has something interesting to say. Many people in the theater community here are rather befuddled by him, and I take pride in being one of the few who can halfway understand him. The only thing that's hard is that he is with someone--and she's perfectly ordinary. He deserves someone as odd as he is. And if you don't think I'm odd...well, just wait until you get to know me better.
I wrote about a page of Checking Out today. It doesn't sound like much, but I have to keep slogging along. I set myself a goal of writing a scene a week, but I have strayed far from that goal. I am happy that I got one of the great comedic moments down; it involves one of the characters doing a very quick costume change but I may change where the bit comes in the play. It is in a good place for a first draft, however.
Fiddler
auditions are tomorrow! I'm pretty happy with No Good Deed--I got the tape made and have practiced with it. I think it's better to have a "live" pianist rather than a tape, because a person can follow you and respond to you. I have nothing to worry about if it's Takis. We have a good connection from Annie--I had an a capella beginning to a song that we worked on and that timed out well. He may not be the musical director :( But I hope Dan gets him. I think he would really love the music.
Well, I promised myself I'd be in bed by ten because I want to make it to church tomorrow (I didn't last week.) Wish me luck...and send wishes of romance my way.
Hanging up now....
Ran into an old flame last week. I broke up with him in 2005. There were many reasons--there was a lot of pressure on the relationship due to his not finding work. There were some things we were very compatible on, like our love of theater, our politics, and our sense of humor, and some things we didn't see eye to eye on at all, like our religious beliefs. There are several atheists in my life but he is the only one I would call an angry atheist. His father died when he was young and for a time the male role model in his life was a man who spewed religious bull while trying to get in his mother's pants. I tried to get him to see this man wasn't a Christian, but he would have none of it. So many times I fantasized about him walking into my church, because the message fit his life so well. He would benefit so much from having something to believe in.
Given this, it was good to see him. I always like seeing him--he has a unique view of the world and always has something interesting to say. Many people in the theater community here are rather befuddled by him, and I take pride in being one of the few who can halfway understand him. The only thing that's hard is that he is with someone--and she's perfectly ordinary. He deserves someone as odd as he is. And if you don't think I'm odd...well, just wait until you get to know me better.
I wrote about a page of Checking Out today. It doesn't sound like much, but I have to keep slogging along. I set myself a goal of writing a scene a week, but I have strayed far from that goal. I am happy that I got one of the great comedic moments down; it involves one of the characters doing a very quick costume change but I may change where the bit comes in the play. It is in a good place for a first draft, however.
Fiddler
auditions are tomorrow! I'm pretty happy with No Good Deed--I got the tape made and have practiced with it. I think it's better to have a "live" pianist rather than a tape, because a person can follow you and respond to you. I have nothing to worry about if it's Takis. We have a good connection from Annie--I had an a capella beginning to a song that we worked on and that timed out well. He may not be the musical director :( But I hope Dan gets him. I think he would really love the music.Well, I promised myself I'd be in bed by ten because I want to make it to church tomorrow (I didn't last week.) Wish me luck...and send wishes of romance my way.
Hanging up now....
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Wahoo!
I have written several more pages of Checking Out. I made a discovery about one of my characters last night that solves several problems. I now have a villian! I didn't expect this show to have a villian, and I especially didn't expect this particular character to be a villain. Things like these just come to me sometimes, as the characters speak to me and reveal new things about themselves.
Originally I thought it would be 100 pages, 50 in the first act and 50 in the second. At this point, I think it will be more like 80 pages, with 30 pages in the second act. If each page is a minute, this is an 80 minute show--1 hr 20 minutes, with a 15 minute intermission making it 1 hr 35 minutes. This is a good running time for a play. It's good not to ask audiences, especially the kind of audiences we get, to sit still for long.
Last night was boot camp, and today I worked out with Stephanie alone. Boot camp was grueling, as usual. I felt like I was going to puke, as usual. I've learned from experience not to eat dinner before; now I have a snack before and eat dinner afterwards. Today was a little better, but she still pushed me. She didn't make me do walking lunges, though! Wahoo!
Worked with Ji-Yoon today. I am going to have her work on vocabulary based on things we read. We finished reading the Sabrina comic today and she wanted to find words she didn't know in there. We found fifteen words and she is going to look them up for next week. I'm also going to start reading Spider with her, which is a companion magazine to Cricket, only for younger readers. I want to work on her conversation but also on her reading comprehension. As she learns more words, she will be able to use them in conversation. She was a little shy today. I don't know if it was something that happened in school or the weather or what. I try to ask open-ended questions to get her to talk more, while still keeping the answers easy. For instance, we looked at the cover and I asked her, "Who is your favorite character?" (She liked the blue one.)
Went grocery shopping and got a lot of healthy food. The eating is going better. I've lost a couple pounds, according to the scale at the gym. I'm going to get out the scale here and see what it says. I threw out my old scale when it read 155, but I think it's good to have some kind of measure.
I'm going to get my thyroid checked. I've been working out more and more these past few months, but the weight still isn't coming off. And I'm sleeping A LOT. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea. I found out that thyroid problems run in my family, something I didn't know. So that's worth checking out.
I'm going to work on the play now. I'm very optimistic. One of those funny "moments" is coming up, and it's retribution for my villain. Fun, fun stuff.
Hanging up now...
Originally I thought it would be 100 pages, 50 in the first act and 50 in the second. At this point, I think it will be more like 80 pages, with 30 pages in the second act. If each page is a minute, this is an 80 minute show--1 hr 20 minutes, with a 15 minute intermission making it 1 hr 35 minutes. This is a good running time for a play. It's good not to ask audiences, especially the kind of audiences we get, to sit still for long.
Last night was boot camp, and today I worked out with Stephanie alone. Boot camp was grueling, as usual. I felt like I was going to puke, as usual. I've learned from experience not to eat dinner before; now I have a snack before and eat dinner afterwards. Today was a little better, but she still pushed me. She didn't make me do walking lunges, though! Wahoo!
Worked with Ji-Yoon today. I am going to have her work on vocabulary based on things we read. We finished reading the Sabrina comic today and she wanted to find words she didn't know in there. We found fifteen words and she is going to look them up for next week. I'm also going to start reading Spider with her, which is a companion magazine to Cricket, only for younger readers. I want to work on her conversation but also on her reading comprehension. As she learns more words, she will be able to use them in conversation. She was a little shy today. I don't know if it was something that happened in school or the weather or what. I try to ask open-ended questions to get her to talk more, while still keeping the answers easy. For instance, we looked at the cover and I asked her, "Who is your favorite character?" (She liked the blue one.)
Went grocery shopping and got a lot of healthy food. The eating is going better. I've lost a couple pounds, according to the scale at the gym. I'm going to get out the scale here and see what it says. I threw out my old scale when it read 155, but I think it's good to have some kind of measure.
I'm going to get my thyroid checked. I've been working out more and more these past few months, but the weight still isn't coming off. And I'm sleeping A LOT. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea. I found out that thyroid problems run in my family, something I didn't know. So that's worth checking out.
I'm going to work on the play now. I'm very optimistic. One of those funny "moments" is coming up, and it's retribution for my villain. Fun, fun stuff.
Hanging up now...
Sunday, March 8, 2009
I Have Had Singing
It's been a rainy, cold day--much like England weather. I had hot miso soup for lunch and that was perfect. I made it to church again this week and we sang. After church the choir director, Alan, worked with me on my audition piece for Fiddler. I'm doing No Good Deed from Wicked.
I want something dramatic and show-stopping, to show the director I can be more than sweet. There is a rumor going around that Lansing Civic may not be able to do Fiddler because they are running out of money. So I'm also auditioning for The Rothchilds that weekend. Why do they have to have the auditions on the same weekend??? This has always mystified me--theaters always seem to compete when it comes to auditions and performances. We should be working together to get as many people to our shows as we can.
Called my guy to see if he wanted to get together next weekend. We've been playing phone tag but we probably are going to see each other. I'm so afraid he'll say the distance is too much or that something else is wrong. I haven't had much luck with this online stuff. Of course, I've only tried the woman-seeking-man sites. But I am at a point in my life where I feel more comfortable with men. Like I said before, this doesn't rule out the possibility of being with a woman.
Wrote a few pages of Checking Out. George, the protagonist, is pretty serious, so I gave him a funny story to tell. The fact is, I really don't know how to cover the stretches between the "moments" I have in my head. I can tell when it's good, when the voices are strong. But I just feel like I'm biding my time with words until one of those funny moments comes up.
I think of who I want to play the characters. I know I shouldn't do this. My professor in the page-to-stage class says, "Don't write a part for a specific actor--write it for a good actor." But there are people I know who would be great in the roles. One of the characters is a very out, very young Asian drag queen, and I just happen to know a very out, very young Asian kid. So am I writing the part "for" him? Another character is middle-aged, but the only actor I can see playing him is in his twenties. Should I change the part to fit him? Of course not. That would totally fuck up the whole story. And I have to remember--the chances that this play will ever get done are pretty slim. If nothing else, I have to finish it first!
On a totally different note, fishing season is coming up. I'm going home the last weekend in March to fish with my dad. We catch bluegill, crappie, and the occasional bass. He usually catches the bass and I usually catch the crappie. They are really hard to catch. They just barely take the hook and never pull it down like gills do. I had one good summer where I caught a bunch. I caught them when I was thinking of something else. I've tried that since but do you know how hard it is to think of something else when a fish is about to bite your bait?
Hanging up now...
I want something dramatic and show-stopping, to show the director I can be more than sweet. There is a rumor going around that Lansing Civic may not be able to do Fiddler because they are running out of money. So I'm also auditioning for The Rothchilds that weekend. Why do they have to have the auditions on the same weekend??? This has always mystified me--theaters always seem to compete when it comes to auditions and performances. We should be working together to get as many people to our shows as we can.
Called my guy to see if he wanted to get together next weekend. We've been playing phone tag but we probably are going to see each other. I'm so afraid he'll say the distance is too much or that something else is wrong. I haven't had much luck with this online stuff. Of course, I've only tried the woman-seeking-man sites. But I am at a point in my life where I feel more comfortable with men. Like I said before, this doesn't rule out the possibility of being with a woman.
Wrote a few pages of Checking Out. George, the protagonist, is pretty serious, so I gave him a funny story to tell. The fact is, I really don't know how to cover the stretches between the "moments" I have in my head. I can tell when it's good, when the voices are strong. But I just feel like I'm biding my time with words until one of those funny moments comes up.
I think of who I want to play the characters. I know I shouldn't do this. My professor in the page-to-stage class says, "Don't write a part for a specific actor--write it for a good actor." But there are people I know who would be great in the roles. One of the characters is a very out, very young Asian drag queen, and I just happen to know a very out, very young Asian kid. So am I writing the part "for" him? Another character is middle-aged, but the only actor I can see playing him is in his twenties. Should I change the part to fit him? Of course not. That would totally fuck up the whole story. And I have to remember--the chances that this play will ever get done are pretty slim. If nothing else, I have to finish it first!
On a totally different note, fishing season is coming up. I'm going home the last weekend in March to fish with my dad. We catch bluegill, crappie, and the occasional bass. He usually catches the bass and I usually catch the crappie. They are really hard to catch. They just barely take the hook and never pull it down like gills do. I had one good summer where I caught a bunch. I caught them when I was thinking of something else. I've tried that since but do you know how hard it is to think of something else when a fish is about to bite your bait?
Hanging up now...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
YAY!
I made it to church today! Jeanne didn't have a message because the kids did a little musical called "100% Chance of Rain." It was cute. The best part was when Noah sneezed into his mic and proved that, in fact, the sound system does work. Love it.
I made cookies for a friend today. They're supposed to be sugar cookies but I think they turned out a little less sugary than they should have. I compensated by making the icing really sweet. The icing turned out a little more soupy than it probably should have, so I iced the cookies and am waiting for the icing to get hard. I have about another hour here before I have to go, so I'm hoping it will have solidified by then. I'm kind of new at making cookies, but I've had good results so far. I hope these turn out okay.
I had a date yesterday with a guy I met online. He's very nice, has a job, and is not bad looking. We went to lunch at this place in Fowlerville that was good and cheap. The only thing was the wings that we got were not Buffalo wings. They were just pieces of chicken sort of sitting there. It was weird.
Just checked the icing and I think they'll be ready.
I'm brownnosing the Fiddler director. His birthday is tomorrow and I posted a happy birthday to him on his wall today, a day early. I noticed that two other women have done this, and I bet they are hoping for good roles too. Kind of funny. I'm sure he will laugh at all the attention he'll be getting in the next few weeks.
I'm not sure if he will be able to see me in the role I want. I want to play Fruma Sara, the ghost of Lazar Wolf's wife. She is scary and vindictive and all kinds of cool things. She is only in one scene, but she leaves a lasting impression. I could see him casting me as Grandma Tzeitel too, though. She is sweet like the other character he cast me as (Grace Farrell in Annie.) I'm definitely too old for the daughters, and not quite right for either Golde or Yenta, at least that's the way I see it. I want Jane Zussman to get Yenta. She is great in those character parts.
I'm going over to Heidi's today. She is a great friend. We met doing Marat/Sade and just clicked. The only thing is whenever I go over there we eat really badly. Usually there's pizza and she makes brownies or something. Today I'm bringing the cookies and pizza.
Just had one of the cookies and it's coming along--the icing adds just the right amount of sweetness. The cookie itself was a little too soft, though. It fell apart. Hopefully they won't all be like that.
This weekend has gone by really fast. I still haven't had much luck with Checking Out. I remember having problems with Marriage too, where things just didn't seem to work. I remember one problem was that the main characters were being too nice to each other and there wasn't enough conflict. In this one there's lots of conflict but not much action. And I have the problem with too much seriousness. I think I have a problem with creating mood--my artistic director called Marriage a romantic comedy. God, I hate romantic comedies! It was only one person's opinion, of course. I should ask some of the other company members what they thought it was.
Hanging up now...
I made cookies for a friend today. They're supposed to be sugar cookies but I think they turned out a little less sugary than they should have. I compensated by making the icing really sweet. The icing turned out a little more soupy than it probably should have, so I iced the cookies and am waiting for the icing to get hard. I have about another hour here before I have to go, so I'm hoping it will have solidified by then. I'm kind of new at making cookies, but I've had good results so far. I hope these turn out okay.
I had a date yesterday with a guy I met online. He's very nice, has a job, and is not bad looking. We went to lunch at this place in Fowlerville that was good and cheap. The only thing was the wings that we got were not Buffalo wings. They were just pieces of chicken sort of sitting there. It was weird.
Just checked the icing and I think they'll be ready.
I'm brownnosing the Fiddler director. His birthday is tomorrow and I posted a happy birthday to him on his wall today, a day early. I noticed that two other women have done this, and I bet they are hoping for good roles too. Kind of funny. I'm sure he will laugh at all the attention he'll be getting in the next few weeks.
I'm not sure if he will be able to see me in the role I want. I want to play Fruma Sara, the ghost of Lazar Wolf's wife. She is scary and vindictive and all kinds of cool things. She is only in one scene, but she leaves a lasting impression. I could see him casting me as Grandma Tzeitel too, though. She is sweet like the other character he cast me as (Grace Farrell in Annie.) I'm definitely too old for the daughters, and not quite right for either Golde or Yenta, at least that's the way I see it. I want Jane Zussman to get Yenta. She is great in those character parts.
I'm going over to Heidi's today. She is a great friend. We met doing Marat/Sade and just clicked. The only thing is whenever I go over there we eat really badly. Usually there's pizza and she makes brownies or something. Today I'm bringing the cookies and pizza.
Just had one of the cookies and it's coming along--the icing adds just the right amount of sweetness. The cookie itself was a little too soft, though. It fell apart. Hopefully they won't all be like that.
This weekend has gone by really fast. I still haven't had much luck with Checking Out. I remember having problems with Marriage too, where things just didn't seem to work. I remember one problem was that the main characters were being too nice to each other and there wasn't enough conflict. In this one there's lots of conflict but not much action. And I have the problem with too much seriousness. I think I have a problem with creating mood--my artistic director called Marriage a romantic comedy. God, I hate romantic comedies! It was only one person's opinion, of course. I should ask some of the other company members what they thought it was.
Hanging up now...
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