It has been forever since I have posted. Sorry about that. I have been meaning to write for sometime. I have done three auditions since the last post, well the post before "Blast From the Past." I am still working at the gift shop so none of the auditions have resulted in a job but I gain experience from each one I attend.
I auditioned for this play that I knew nothing about, called "Kiki's Grandpa". As I was going to the audition I realized that the production company sounded Japanese. Sure enough when I arrived they gave me an outline of the play that was apparently translated from Japanese; I could barely tell what was going on. The director and auditors spoke some broken English. That goodness the sides were easier to understand than the play outline although they were still a bit strange. I went in and read my sides. It was an interesting audition to say the least.
The next audition was a singing one for a children's theater that was casting for their season that included "Little House on the Prairie", "Rainbow Fish" and another children's story. I went in and sang, Much More from the "Fantasticks" and they told me thank you and sent me home. It went alright I guess. I mean my nerves still get the best of me. Later that day I met with my acting coach Rance Wright. It was great! I learned so much. I only wish I would have made that appointment before the audition rather than after it! So much to learn.
This past Monday I auditioned for the touring company of West Side Story. This one was a dancing audition. I sat around for 2 1/2 hours and then when it was my group's turn they took us in the room and taught us a 8 sec. dance. Then we all did it one at a time. Then they asked to girls to stay and told the rest of us thanks for coming! I did alright. My nerves were definitely there. That was the first one I have done where we did it all by ourselves, usually they do it in small groups of four. My only consolation is that I was not the worst dancer there. I know that is awful to say but I didn't do my best either so I am just looking for a way to help me feel better, sad but true.
That is the thing with all of these auditions you sit around for 2 or 3 hours perform for 10 seconds and that's it. That is an audition. It is crazy. I am getting used to them. They are all different in their own way but the short ten seconds I have to make an impression seems like one constant no matter what kind of audition it is. And I continue to learn how to deal with my nerves which also seem to be a constant thread in this process. I am so lucky. I just have to remind myself that this takes years. This industry is anything but stable. I cannot take anything personal. Just because it is hard doesn't mean I can't do it or I'm not good at it, it just means I'm normal and need to keep working at it. And that is exactly what I will do!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
A Blast From the Past!
About two and a half weeks ago I went to take a ballet class. As the class was beginning I noticed this cute little blonde girl that looked very familiar. She looked just like a girl I danced with during high school. I almost called out her name to see if she would turn to look but decided against it as class was starting. During all of barre I kept wondering, "Is that Deanna?" By the end of barre I was sure it was her. She came up and called me by name. It was Deanna! We danced in Kansas City together all through high school. It has been 15 years since I have seen her! I did see here perform in KC a couple of years ago but was unable to chat with her then. It was so good to see her and dance with her. What are the chances that we would meet up in NYC! She is also an actress here. Since that day we have gone out to dinner and spent hours talking, catching up. I am so happy to reconnect with her and have yet another friend out here in the Big Apple! I can't believe it, what a blessing. And even more amazing, she lives two blocks from me. It's a small, small world.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
"Bring It On" Review
Last night my roommates and I bought rush tickets with an obstructed view for the teen musical "Bring It On". I finished work at 7:20 and raced to the theater, scarffing down a hot dog as I quickly tried to make it to the 8pm curtain call. I found my roommates outside finishing their food. We took our "obstructed view" seats which were on the front row and waited for it to start.
I must admit I was not that anxious to see this one. I mean a musical about cheerleading? Really? I never even saw the movie and from what I understood I wasn't missing much. I was shocked when I realized how much I enjoyed the musical. I was completely swept away with the story. I was emotionally involved but why? I have thought and thought about this, here are some of my answers. Maybe it was because the main character wanted something so badly, to win the cheerleading championship. She had a dream. I have dreams, everyone does. We can all relate to that one moment that we look to, work for and dream of. The musical is set in high school of course and deals with fitting in, finding your place. I am obviously still in this phase, trying to find my place in this world, figuring out where I belong. Along with this theme comes the idea of learning who you are and having the courage to be yourself no matter what others say. I deal with these same issues every time I audition or perform. What if I mess up? What if I am myself and they don't like me? Do I really dare be myself? These issues are so scary! I guess it just goes to show that though I am not physically in high school anymore perhaps emotionally I am?!? I know, no big surprise to some of you that know me! But here's hoping that sometime soon I can emotionally graduate from that awful stage of life we call adolescence!
So if I am to be honest I must give "Bring It On" two humble thumbs up! The singing was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the acting. And of course the tumbling was fantastic! And most of the cast was making their Broadway debut. I was really impressed. Those of you that are past high school might not enjoy it as much as I did but I would still recommend it. And the front row seats are great!
I must admit I was not that anxious to see this one. I mean a musical about cheerleading? Really? I never even saw the movie and from what I understood I wasn't missing much. I was shocked when I realized how much I enjoyed the musical. I was completely swept away with the story. I was emotionally involved but why? I have thought and thought about this, here are some of my answers. Maybe it was because the main character wanted something so badly, to win the cheerleading championship. She had a dream. I have dreams, everyone does. We can all relate to that one moment that we look to, work for and dream of. The musical is set in high school of course and deals with fitting in, finding your place. I am obviously still in this phase, trying to find my place in this world, figuring out where I belong. Along with this theme comes the idea of learning who you are and having the courage to be yourself no matter what others say. I deal with these same issues every time I audition or perform. What if I mess up? What if I am myself and they don't like me? Do I really dare be myself? These issues are so scary! I guess it just goes to show that though I am not physically in high school anymore perhaps emotionally I am?!? I know, no big surprise to some of you that know me! But here's hoping that sometime soon I can emotionally graduate from that awful stage of life we call adolescence!
So if I am to be honest I must give "Bring It On" two humble thumbs up! The singing was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the acting. And of course the tumbling was fantastic! And most of the cast was making their Broadway debut. I was really impressed. Those of you that are past high school might not enjoy it as much as I did but I would still recommend it. And the front row seats are great!
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| Showing a little S-P-I-R-I-T outside of the Bring It On theater after the show! |
"Nice Work If You Can Get It" Review
Last Thursday night Brenda and I thought we would take advantage of the discounted Broadway tickets and go see a show. Due to Hurricane Sandy many theaters were struggling to fill seats. There were no shows on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday nights. But by Wednesday they were back on. We found a list of shows offering special deals and decided to see "Nice Work If You Can Get It". We sat in the Mezzanine. We had pretty good seats, got an amazing deal but when you get to sit on the front row for other shows you get a little spoiled. After intermission we moved into some empty seats on the front row balcony which were only a little closer but so much better!
This Gershwin musical stars Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. It is a lovely story of a rich bachelor finding true love. It is set in the 1920's in the midst of prohibition. The script was wonderful. Matthew Broderick was hilarious. We laughed and laughed. The plot is full of mishaps, misunderstandings and mistaken identities. Of course everything gets ironed out into a lovely happily ever after at the end. This is why we love theater, is it not?
I really enjoyed the show but I must admit I was not swept away in it like I was with the others I have seen so far. Maybe it was me, maybe I wasn't in the right mood? Maybe I was analyzing too much, taking notes on what I need to do to be more like Kelli O'Hara. She is a petite blond like me. She has this amazing voice. She sang with such ease and emotion. I loved to listen to her and want to be able to sing just like her. And I was wondering if that was a real cigarette she was smoking at the beginning of the show, knowing that smoking is bad for your voice. It had to be a fake, right? Maybe I was watching the show as a student rather than just an audience member? Oh no! Is this going to happen often?
After the show, one of the older ladies in the show came out to autograph programs. She was fabulous. I am sure she is some big name in Broadway that I would know if I were more educated, alas, I am not. But then Matthew Broderick did come out! He signed my program and took a picture with me. There were only about ten of us waiting. It was late and very cold. He seemed really tired and I overheard him say that his throat hurt. He was probably feeling a bit under the weather. I could not tell on stage. He was great! Nice of him to take time to greet us despite how he felt. After that he just turned to walk home. We followed him down the street. Funny, I thought for sure he would have a car.
This Gershwin musical stars Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. It is a lovely story of a rich bachelor finding true love. It is set in the 1920's in the midst of prohibition. The script was wonderful. Matthew Broderick was hilarious. We laughed and laughed. The plot is full of mishaps, misunderstandings and mistaken identities. Of course everything gets ironed out into a lovely happily ever after at the end. This is why we love theater, is it not?
I really enjoyed the show but I must admit I was not swept away in it like I was with the others I have seen so far. Maybe it was me, maybe I wasn't in the right mood? Maybe I was analyzing too much, taking notes on what I need to do to be more like Kelli O'Hara. She is a petite blond like me. She has this amazing voice. She sang with such ease and emotion. I loved to listen to her and want to be able to sing just like her. And I was wondering if that was a real cigarette she was smoking at the beginning of the show, knowing that smoking is bad for your voice. It had to be a fake, right? Maybe I was watching the show as a student rather than just an audience member? Oh no! Is this going to happen often?
After the show, one of the older ladies in the show came out to autograph programs. She was fabulous. I am sure she is some big name in Broadway that I would know if I were more educated, alas, I am not. But then Matthew Broderick did come out! He signed my program and took a picture with me. There were only about ten of us waiting. It was late and very cold. He seemed really tired and I overheard him say that his throat hurt. He was probably feeling a bit under the weather. I could not tell on stage. He was great! Nice of him to take time to greet us despite how he felt. After that he just turned to walk home. We followed him down the street. Funny, I thought for sure he would have a car.
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| Me and Mr. Broderick outside the stage door! |
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy blew into NYC last week. Life is slowly getting back to normal, hopefully the subways will be fully restored this week. I am grateful to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Many of you called to see if my cousin and I were ok. We are doing fine.
At church last Sunday they told us that schools were cancelled the next day. They urged us all to be prepared with extra food, batteries, etc. We came home from church and did our normal Sunday things, talking on the phone with family and napping. That afternoon I got a call that the gift shop would be closed on Monday. No work! I was excited! My acting class was cancelled as was my voice lesson on Tuesday. My other roommate's work was also cancelled. We live in Harlem up north kind of on a hill. It was very odd that everyone was so worried. We waited and waited for the storm to come but it never did. We got a little wind and a little rain but not much else. Growing up in Kansas I witnessed many more violent storms but we enjoyed the time off, watching TV, reading books and making cookies! It wasn't until Wed when we realized how bad the storm had hit New Jersey and other parts of NYC. We were sad to see all of the flooding and fires on the news. We were also grateful that we had not encountered any problems! We are blessed! My roommate was unable to go to work due to the lack of electricity in her building. My cousin works from home so no problem there! Ha, we finally found a disadvantage to working from home.
We did venture out to do a couple of errands on Wednesday, just the ones in walking distance. There were some buses running but no subways. Those going to work waited in line for hours for the buses which apparently couldn't make all the stops they were supposed to because they were so full of people! I am glad I didn't work on Wednesday or Thursday so I didn't have to mess with the buses. The city will survive. It will make it through. There were several clean up service projects going on yesterday. It would have been nice to have gone but I had to work. I hope and pray everyone gets electricity restore. It is getting colder and colder everyday.
At church last Sunday they told us that schools were cancelled the next day. They urged us all to be prepared with extra food, batteries, etc. We came home from church and did our normal Sunday things, talking on the phone with family and napping. That afternoon I got a call that the gift shop would be closed on Monday. No work! I was excited! My acting class was cancelled as was my voice lesson on Tuesday. My other roommate's work was also cancelled. We live in Harlem up north kind of on a hill. It was very odd that everyone was so worried. We waited and waited for the storm to come but it never did. We got a little wind and a little rain but not much else. Growing up in Kansas I witnessed many more violent storms but we enjoyed the time off, watching TV, reading books and making cookies! It wasn't until Wed when we realized how bad the storm had hit New Jersey and other parts of NYC. We were sad to see all of the flooding and fires on the news. We were also grateful that we had not encountered any problems! We are blessed! My roommate was unable to go to work due to the lack of electricity in her building. My cousin works from home so no problem there! Ha, we finally found a disadvantage to working from home.
We did venture out to do a couple of errands on Wednesday, just the ones in walking distance. There were some buses running but no subways. Those going to work waited in line for hours for the buses which apparently couldn't make all the stops they were supposed to because they were so full of people! I am glad I didn't work on Wednesday or Thursday so I didn't have to mess with the buses. The city will survive. It will make it through. There were several clean up service projects going on yesterday. It would have been nice to have gone but I had to work. I hope and pray everyone gets electricity restore. It is getting colder and colder everyday.
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