There's something I love about rehearsing... You meet new people, work hard together and after a few weeks, you've put together a show! Well, we only have ten days to rehearse "Keepers" and after only two days, we have the two hardest songs pretty well "down," the opening and the closing songs!
As it turns out, I have two monologues to present, no solo songs, but given the short time involved, I don't really mind! I will rehearse my monologues tomorrow for the first time and I am pretty close to having them memorized but without any blocking (movement) which helps me memorize. This blocking will be a big help in really "anchoring" the words into my memory.
It's all very exciting, especially after we toured "Studio 54," a huge theater with a massive balcony. I took a photo on my phone and now that is my "wallpaper." It truly is a Broadway theater so after this show on November 1 at "Studio 54," I can actually say I performed on Broadway, LOL! Tickets are only $95. Anybody wanna come?
The next scene from "Death of a Salesman" at Columbia went pretty well. As a dream sequence, it was actually a nightmare for Willy's wife. I got to meet four new actors and in three rehearsals, we put together a 15-minute piece...that was supposed to only be about seven minutes long. Again, I am really working on my memorization skills, my weakest area, by far.
I auditioned for the "Actor's Project of New York," with only one of seven actors getting through. Well, using my comic monologue, I got through. This group develops original humorous pieces and plays. They charge a membership fee for the first year and then it's free forever. I'm still trying to decide what to do about it but am strongly leaning toward doing it as I LOVE doing original material, especially if I am writing it, too.
I did the last class for a five-week "Musical Auditioning" class, led by Dale Brown of Tara Rubin Casting. It went OK and I've ended up with a pretty strong song added to my "book," as musical performers call it. Overall, the feedback from the five agents who attended the final "performance" was luke warm. I listened to what I recorded of me singing that night and I was too careful. I just need to "go for it" and need songs that let me do that.
Another problem with my singing is this New York air, which I expected. My recorded voice sounds "thin" to me, but I'm also trying to flow through the acting part at the same time and the vocals are suffering. I'll get there.
Tomorrow, I hope to be auditioning for "Catch Me If You Can." I tried to get in there today but they were running late and then I had to go to rehearsal. I also have rehearsal tomorrow but the auditions "should" still be going on afterwards, if the poor agent hasn't lost his patience. There were absolute idiots there today, wasting his time. It shows the desperation of some performers...but they are keeping others from getting a chance.
At the same casting office, I hope to also audition for "Wicked," a show that is second on my list of ones I REALLY want to be in!!! The other is "Memphis!" by the way.
I also auditioned for and got a callback from the "Chamber Theater Productions" company that puts out shows to tour the entire U.S. It pays OK but I don't know if I should do that. I did a pretty crummy German accent during my second audition so maybe I blew it already. I don't know...
I think I may have already written this VERY true adage in my blog, "An actor's job is to audition." As long as these other projects don't get in the way of the other musical I will be doing, "Perp!" then that will be fine. Both "Catch" and "Wicked" wouldn't start until 2011, I think. Still, it is a very tough thing to get a part in either show, like one out of a thousand odds, I would guess. However, I will keep trying! Why shouldn't I?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Moving Onward?
I put a question mark there because some days, you wonder. Yesterday, I attending an "agent meet" that had ten casting and business agents. The place organizing it sent links to pieces an actor could choose a scene, which I did. In hindsight, it would have been better to find my own but time was short.
Still, I feel it went well but would have been much better with a better scene. On top of that, I already knew the agents weren't quite who I needed to meet but you can never tell. I will wait and see if I get any contact from the agent
The day before yesterday, I auditioned for an Equity show, "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom." "Equity" means it was a union show and since I am not a member in the U.S., they are HARD to get into quite often. Each of us went in, sang for about two minutes and then out we came, none of us knowing if we did OK or what. That is how it is often done. You always hope that the agent or agents will ask some questions, etc., but the one guy in there didn't say a thing to anyone as far as I know. Maybe you get a call or email later or maybe not. It would be nice to hear "no" but some people freak out with that. I would just like to know...anything!
Good news! One musical (in development) that I auditioned for, "Perp! The Musical," didn't know which part to give me as there were two parts I could do. One was a ridiculous criminal and the other was his defense attorney. Well, I ended up with....both! They don't appear together on stage at the same time so I will change my appearance a bit, mostly for the lawyer, I guess.
Columbia U emailed me again! Ray, who directed me before asked me to do another scene for his grad class. It'll be a "dream sequence" and it sounds like fun already. We'll rehearse tonight, Saturday and Sunday and present the scene on Monday. It's also from "Death of a Salesman."
My biggest project is coming up, "Keepers," a musical showcase to go on November 1 at "Studio 54," formerly the world's most renowned nightclub. Rehearsals will start October 21 and I'm supposed to receive the music and texts I need to do... With so many projects, I really need all the time I can get to keep the texts straight in my addled brain.
This coming Wednesday, I will audition for "The 39 Steps," a show I saw in London's West End two years ago. This show has been on Broadway, is currently off Broadway and they are casting for a group to tour nationally here in the U.S. It's a comical, four-actor version of the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name. Each person plays several parts and I am hoping for the part of the comic character that plays even more parts than the others. It's a great piece of fun!
Hey! My roomie's show in the "Irish Theater Festival" was selected as "Best Play!" I've started calling him, "Champ," which he deserves! There is even talk of taking it over to Ireland and performing it there.
Every day, I send off emails with my photo and resume attached, hoping to get parts in movies and plays that I see advertised on a site called, "Actor's Access." I've gotten about three "jobs" from it and every day, you never know what you might see in your email inbox. There's also something called playbill.com.
Between the internet and everything else, I have very little time for writing and I need to do so. I had a song idea last night while I was on the subway and should have written it down. I'll try now. Bye!
Still, I feel it went well but would have been much better with a better scene. On top of that, I already knew the agents weren't quite who I needed to meet but you can never tell. I will wait and see if I get any contact from the agent
The day before yesterday, I auditioned for an Equity show, "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom." "Equity" means it was a union show and since I am not a member in the U.S., they are HARD to get into quite often. Each of us went in, sang for about two minutes and then out we came, none of us knowing if we did OK or what. That is how it is often done. You always hope that the agent or agents will ask some questions, etc., but the one guy in there didn't say a thing to anyone as far as I know. Maybe you get a call or email later or maybe not. It would be nice to hear "no" but some people freak out with that. I would just like to know...anything!
Good news! One musical (in development) that I auditioned for, "Perp! The Musical," didn't know which part to give me as there were two parts I could do. One was a ridiculous criminal and the other was his defense attorney. Well, I ended up with....both! They don't appear together on stage at the same time so I will change my appearance a bit, mostly for the lawyer, I guess.
Columbia U emailed me again! Ray, who directed me before asked me to do another scene for his grad class. It'll be a "dream sequence" and it sounds like fun already. We'll rehearse tonight, Saturday and Sunday and present the scene on Monday. It's also from "Death of a Salesman."
My biggest project is coming up, "Keepers," a musical showcase to go on November 1 at "Studio 54," formerly the world's most renowned nightclub. Rehearsals will start October 21 and I'm supposed to receive the music and texts I need to do... With so many projects, I really need all the time I can get to keep the texts straight in my addled brain.
This coming Wednesday, I will audition for "The 39 Steps," a show I saw in London's West End two years ago. This show has been on Broadway, is currently off Broadway and they are casting for a group to tour nationally here in the U.S. It's a comical, four-actor version of the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name. Each person plays several parts and I am hoping for the part of the comic character that plays even more parts than the others. It's a great piece of fun!
Hey! My roomie's show in the "Irish Theater Festival" was selected as "Best Play!" I've started calling him, "Champ," which he deserves! There is even talk of taking it over to Ireland and performing it there.
Every day, I send off emails with my photo and resume attached, hoping to get parts in movies and plays that I see advertised on a site called, "Actor's Access." I've gotten about three "jobs" from it and every day, you never know what you might see in your email inbox. There's also something called playbill.com.
Between the internet and everything else, I have very little time for writing and I need to do so. I had a song idea last night while I was on the subway and should have written it down. I'll try now. Bye!
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