I'm back in L.A., listening to the pillows and trying to pick apart that entire weird, fun, informative tour.
I think first and foremost, I'm going to miss everyone--a lot. I already do. It feels strange being at home right now. I miss Pat Leuschen's basement, with its exercise equipment and mini-fridge. I miss Pat, who is a lot like my grandma--if she'd gotten a PhD in Neuroscience. I miss leaving the house and walking across the street to UNO, where we would rehearse in the strange greenish room with the hardwood floors. I miss the hell out of the cast. All my touries. Off to bigger and better things already--or simply going back to work. Vince, who is a for-reals Jedi--off to direct shows and teach kids how to murder each other onstage. Sarah, who--despite playing a terrifying supernatural force of impending doom--will squeal if a cupcake is cute. Sean, who will say that thing you'd think would be really funny to say aloud--but don't have the balls to. Brian, who is Goddamn hilarious--sometimes unintentionally (ask about 'Oh no, coffee stain'.) Maria, who is the best kind of 'off her rocker' EVER. Wes, who I wish I'd had more time to drink and nerd out with. Each and every one of these people are amazing em-effers that I REALLY wish I get a chance to work with again.
Sigh. Sob.
In any case, here I am again. My brother moved out, so I've got my own room! IT'S.....empty, really. I won't be here for much longer, either--I'll be moving in with Kivs and Jack Freeeeezay soon enough. For now, though--I'm going to work, audition, and try to earn a barrel of cash so I can move confidently. Here's to that!
Love,
Dakotah
Showing posts with label Nebraska Shakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nebraska Shakes. Show all posts
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
What's your FAVORITE thing about touring?
"What's your favorite thing about touring?" asked the girl from Central High's school paper. Her tone sounded like she'd asked herself in a mirror over and over and now it was CRUNCH TIME. In the background, a fellow staffer was snapping pictures. I leaned down toward her phone, which she was using to record our chat.
"Well," I began as I heard Maria (our awesome Lady M and all-around super cool lady) answering the exact same question behind me, "I love the fact that we're presented with an entirely new show every night." My subtext was Don't sweat it, future journalist, you're doing fine! This is probably weirder for me than it is for you. "That space is different, the audience is different, it all informs the kind of show we have in the end. I love it, it's like theatre boot camp."
Indeed it is.
I thought about the past week or so. Counting the two previews, we'd done about 10 shows and 2 workshops since last Friday. I haven't gotten up this early this frequently since High School. Many a morning, I found myself trudging to our meeting spot (The Omaha Community Playhouse) with my hands buried in my sweatshirt pockets, trying to squeak out a warm-up on the way there while I attempt to wrap my brain around this career path. I wake up at 5:30am to get together with friends, drive to a high-school and MAKE BELIEVE for an hour. Last Wednesday, we had three shows. That means three load-ins and load-outs. Three sets of fight calls (The final Macbeth Macduff scene on the final performance was an exercise in endurance.) And a whole lot of STANKY LEGGINGS. Afterward, I felt like I unlocked a damn Achievement. If you can do that, you can do any-fucking-thing.
"So, you've been doing this for a while. Do you like your other cast members?" she asks, a bit more relaxed now after we'd chatted a bit.
"I love em'. I LOVE EM'." Tune it down, Dakotah--you're scaring the poor highschooler. "It's a pleasure to work with such an amazing group of people. We all really have each others' backs out there." And we do. We've yet to have our Perfect Show, so in the meantime--we're ready to jump in on a missed cue, help each other put on clothes (in AND out of show, ROWR--no that's not true), clarify stuff, dial shit up/down, and if need be--deliver Maria's baby. I'm just sayin'--how awesome a story would that be? "And she never broke character!"
"Do you ever get tired doing the same show over and over?"
"No, not really." I wished one of the kids had asked this in the talkback. I've been wanting to verbalize this thought process for a while. "The way I see it, every night you're noticing something else. It's like when you watch a movie over and over--you start to appreciate the minutiae. The more we do it, the more new stuff I hear every day."
"Oh wow," Reporty McReportpants laughs, no longer in 'reporter mode', "I never thought about it like that."
"Yeah."
"So, how did you like Central High?"
"Ah-" I pause. How exactly do I say this? "They're rambunctious, but pretty focused. I think they really dug the show." Well done, Brown. No f-bombs. To be honest, they had some trouble with unsex me here, and all the murders--which are evidently HILARIOUS(??), and I definitely saw some kids sleeping, reading, and playing with either PSPs or their wieners (I couldn't tell, it was three dudes hunkered into their chairs all looking at one dude's crotch.) To be honest, the best shows we've had were at a pair of havens for underprivileged children. The kids helped us set up, paid INCREDIBLY close attention to the show (which they LOVED), and their questions were the most intelligent we'll probably get on the tour. On top of that, they're all SUPER sweet kids. I'm amazed that we got to enrich their lives with our make believe. We're actually helping people. Shakespeare is fucking AWESOME.
"Well thank you," the girl said into her phone, "thanks a lot."
"Oh yeah, of course! Thanks for comin' to the show! Pleasure to meet you." and she leaves after a firm, professional handshake.
I have the best job ever.
"Well," I began as I heard Maria (our awesome Lady M and all-around super cool lady) answering the exact same question behind me, "I love the fact that we're presented with an entirely new show every night." My subtext was Don't sweat it, future journalist, you're doing fine! This is probably weirder for me than it is for you. "That space is different, the audience is different, it all informs the kind of show we have in the end. I love it, it's like theatre boot camp."
Indeed it is.
I thought about the past week or so. Counting the two previews, we'd done about 10 shows and 2 workshops since last Friday. I haven't gotten up this early this frequently since High School. Many a morning, I found myself trudging to our meeting spot (The Omaha Community Playhouse) with my hands buried in my sweatshirt pockets, trying to squeak out a warm-up on the way there while I attempt to wrap my brain around this career path. I wake up at 5:30am to get together with friends, drive to a high-school and MAKE BELIEVE for an hour. Last Wednesday, we had three shows. That means three load-ins and load-outs. Three sets of fight calls (The final Macbeth Macduff scene on the final performance was an exercise in endurance.) And a whole lot of STANKY LEGGINGS. Afterward, I felt like I unlocked a damn Achievement. If you can do that, you can do any-fucking-thing.
"So, you've been doing this for a while. Do you like your other cast members?" she asks, a bit more relaxed now after we'd chatted a bit.
"I love em'. I LOVE EM'." Tune it down, Dakotah--you're scaring the poor highschooler. "It's a pleasure to work with such an amazing group of people. We all really have each others' backs out there." And we do. We've yet to have our Perfect Show, so in the meantime--we're ready to jump in on a missed cue, help each other put on clothes (in AND out of show, ROWR--no that's not true), clarify stuff, dial shit up/down, and if need be--deliver Maria's baby. I'm just sayin'--how awesome a story would that be? "And she never broke character!"
"Do you ever get tired doing the same show over and over?"
"No, not really." I wished one of the kids had asked this in the talkback. I've been wanting to verbalize this thought process for a while. "The way I see it, every night you're noticing something else. It's like when you watch a movie over and over--you start to appreciate the minutiae. The more we do it, the more new stuff I hear every day."
"Oh wow," Reporty McReportpants laughs, no longer in 'reporter mode', "I never thought about it like that."
"Yeah."
"So, how did you like Central High?"
"Ah-" I pause. How exactly do I say this? "They're rambunctious, but pretty focused. I think they really dug the show." Well done, Brown. No f-bombs. To be honest, they had some trouble with unsex me here, and all the murders--which are evidently HILARIOUS(??), and I definitely saw some kids sleeping, reading, and playing with either PSPs or their wieners (I couldn't tell, it was three dudes hunkered into their chairs all looking at one dude's crotch.) To be honest, the best shows we've had were at a pair of havens for underprivileged children. The kids helped us set up, paid INCREDIBLY close attention to the show (which they LOVED), and their questions were the most intelligent we'll probably get on the tour. On top of that, they're all SUPER sweet kids. I'm amazed that we got to enrich their lives with our make believe. We're actually helping people. Shakespeare is fucking AWESOME.
"Well thank you," the girl said into her phone, "thanks a lot."
"Oh yeah, of course! Thanks for comin' to the show! Pleasure to meet you." and she leaves after a firm, professional handshake.
I have the best job ever.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Nebraska Shakes: The Process
Real quick--let me mention that the whole "I'm the worst actor in the cast blah blah blah" thing is actually back in full swing for a moment, so to get out of that bullshit rut, I'm going to talk about Le Process(e).
We got the adapted scripts about a month ago, and have been theoretically doing our own text work up until now. It is waaay pared-down, with the Witch playing all the incidental characters, Duncan playing Macduff, and Banquo playing Rosse. Malcom is...well...always Malcom. Then there's M and Lady M.
It seemed like the leads were off-book on day one, but really it took me about a day and a half to be totally solid. The director is an actor director--meaning he'll go in there and tell you to 'move here' or 'this moment worked' and stuff like that. He's got a lot of good ideas and images, and is totally willing to forgo them for stronger ideas and more solid images. I realize that because I've never worked with him before--I've been spending the past several days trying to impress him. Which is not acting. It is, rather, sucking fat hardcore balls. But enough about that (and by that, I mean I'm sure I'll toss some more sardonic self-loathing in here before the end.)
We had the play blocked in about three days, and now we've got room to play.Generally, the director would give the general shape of the scene and leave the playing up to the actors. This was great. The only downside is the nearly zero text work we've done--which actually seems pretty okay for almost everyone. Again, our Lady M is a freaking machine with incredible spot-on instincts. We haven't really done any character exercises either, which is good considering the time frame we've got. Again, to bring this back to 'woe-is-me'ville, I feel like I'm floundering MAJORLY.
The sounds and music were kind of done the same way. We play. The director has an idea and we all sort of throw in what seems to make sense and what sticks sticks and what doesn't doesn't. Given that we have eight hours in a day, we can really dig into it--and that's been the most rewarding part. If I can just get over trying to be good, and start learning, I'll feel solid. It's just tough when my notes are things like, "Try to project." and "It's actually pronounced preTENSE." and "What's your point of view, here?" I certainly don't feel like someone who's just graduated from a theater program. This is all, of course, to say it's day 5 of week 1 of my 3rd Shakespeare show. I'll come off it, but right now its very frustrating.
Alright alright. I'm done. Thanks.
Love or whatever, grumble grumble
Dakotah
We got the adapted scripts about a month ago, and have been theoretically doing our own text work up until now. It is waaay pared-down, with the Witch playing all the incidental characters, Duncan playing Macduff, and Banquo playing Rosse. Malcom is...well...always Malcom. Then there's M and Lady M.
It seemed like the leads were off-book on day one, but really it took me about a day and a half to be totally solid. The director is an actor director--meaning he'll go in there and tell you to 'move here' or 'this moment worked' and stuff like that. He's got a lot of good ideas and images, and is totally willing to forgo them for stronger ideas and more solid images. I realize that because I've never worked with him before--I've been spending the past several days trying to impress him. Which is not acting. It is, rather, sucking fat hardcore balls. But enough about that (and by that, I mean I'm sure I'll toss some more sardonic self-loathing in here before the end.)
We had the play blocked in about three days, and now we've got room to play.Generally, the director would give the general shape of the scene and leave the playing up to the actors. This was great. The only downside is the nearly zero text work we've done--which actually seems pretty okay for almost everyone. Again, our Lady M is a freaking machine with incredible spot-on instincts. We haven't really done any character exercises either, which is good considering the time frame we've got. Again, to bring this back to 'woe-is-me'ville, I feel like I'm floundering MAJORLY.
The sounds and music were kind of done the same way. We play. The director has an idea and we all sort of throw in what seems to make sense and what sticks sticks and what doesn't doesn't. Given that we have eight hours in a day, we can really dig into it--and that's been the most rewarding part. If I can just get over trying to be good, and start learning, I'll feel solid. It's just tough when my notes are things like, "Try to project." and "It's actually pronounced preTENSE." and "What's your point of view, here?" I certainly don't feel like someone who's just graduated from a theater program. This is all, of course, to say it's day 5 of week 1 of my 3rd Shakespeare show. I'll come off it, but right now its very frustrating.
Alright alright. I'm done. Thanks.
Love or whatever, grumble grumble
Dakotah
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